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STATISTICS OF THE WEST. 



THE WEST: 



ITS 



SOIL, SURFACE, AND PRODUCTIONS, 



BY 



JAMES HALL 



CINCINNATI: 

DERBY, BRADLEY & CO., PUBLISHERS. 

1848. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847. 

BY JAMES HALL, 

in the Clerk's Office for the District Court of Ohio. 






««c e«« .et 



-t-S-: 



Cir CI'JIHA.'D I. • ' . 

flTEIVEOrTPEI> AVTD PRrNTSU BY 

E. SHEPARD. 
Columbia Street, Cia. 



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PEEFACE. 



The greater portion of the following work was pub- 
lished some years ago, under the title of " Notes on the 
Western States ; " but as that, or a similar name, has 
since been adopted for several other publications, it has 
been thought expedient to change it to that which now 
appears on the title page. It is a matter of but little 
importance; but it is deemed proper to make the expla- 
nation, to avoid even the appearance of publishing, as a 
new work, a revised edition of one which has been lousf 
before the public. 

In preparing these pages for re-publication, it was found 
that much of the matter had been rendered obsolete, by 
the rapid growth of the country, and required to be WTit- 
ten over. There were other portions of the work, des- 
criptive of the great outlines of the country, its natural 
divisions and permanent features, which are as true now, 
as when originally wTitten, and which, as expressing the 
early and vivid impressions of tke author, are retained 
without alteration. 

The amount of new matter introduced, has been con- 
siderable, and has rendered it advisable to omit several 
chapters of the former work, which will be thrown into 
another volume, and published as an additional series of 
this work. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Western Plain — its limits — its topography — the general char- 
acter of its formation, Page 13 

CHAPTER H. 

The River Ohio — its etymology — scenery — timber — low water — 
floods — the great flood of 1832 — impediments to navigation — pro- 
posed improvements, 21 

CHAPTER HI. 

The River Mississippi — general character — Grand Tower — scenery 
of the Upper Mississippi, 46 

CHAPTER IV. 

General surface of the countiy — the alternation of forest and prairie 
— scenery in western Pennsylvania, western Virginia, Ohio, Illi- 
nois, Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky, compared, 54 

CHAPTER V. 

The Prairies— their surface — vegetation, and appearance at different 
seasons, 69 

CHAPTER VI. 

Theory of the Prairies — fires — different theories respecting the for- 
mation of prairies — plains in Pennsylvania and elsewhere,. . 79 

CHAPTER VH. 

Soil of the Prairies — explanation in reference to the supposed want 
of limber, 95 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Destitution of water on the Prairies considered, and explained— 
wet Prairies Page 1Q5 

CHAPTER IX. 

Wild Animals in the Western States— birds — reptiles 110 

CHAPTER X. 

Agricultural products— wheat— Indian corn— potatoes— grass— rye 
—barley—hemp—flax— silk— tobacco— oats, &c 136 

CHAPTER XI. 

Fruits— wild fruits— cultivated fruits— the grape— wine— Horticul- 
tural Society at Cincinnati— the strawberry— Cincinnati straw- 
berries — apples — peaches — raspberries — quinces — cherries 

plums j^3 

CHAPTER XII, 

Farming and Improvements— in Western Pennsylvania— Western 
Virginia— Northern Ohio— Central Ohio— Miami Valley— Hamil- 
ton— Dayton— Springfield— Columijus— Scioto Valley— Chilli- 
cothe— Ancient Mounds— Whitewater Valley— the lake cities- 
table of products jry 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Garden vegetables— Floral Calendar— wood and timber 172 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Domestic Animals-the hog-Pork packing at Cincinnati-sheep-^ 
beef— horses — mules ^ ^ ^ Vgo 

CHAPTER XV. 

The Public Domain-title of the United States to the public lands 
exammed— objections discussed— the policy of the government in 
the disposal of the public lands-proposed reduction, and gradua 
tion of price .ny 



THE WESTERN PLAIN. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Western Plain — Its Limits — Its Topography — The General 
Character of its Formation — Its Mineral Resources. 

In order to understand the subject distinctly, it will be 
necessary to consider carefully the topography of that 
part of the valley of the Mississippi embraced within 
our remarks, with a few of its geological features. It 
extends from the western slope of the Allegheny moun- 
tains, to the great sand plains of the west, a distance of 
about fifteen hundred miles ; and from the northern lakes 
to the mouth of the Ohio, a distance of about six hun- 
dred miles. 

We confine ourselves chiefly within these limits, be- 
cause they circumscribe a territory naturally connected, 
by similarity of climate, and contiguity of territory. It 
is properly the West, the seat of what is called the 
Western population, and the most valuable tract of coun- 
try in the United States. It embraces the states of Ken- 
tucky, OhiOj Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and 
Michigan, and parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ten- 
nessee, and a region of about five hundred miles in 
width lying west of those organised boundaries. There 
is probably not on the globe, an equal expanse of sur- 
face, of such uniform fertility ; and when in addition to 
that advantage, we take into view, its temperate climate, 
its salubrity, the abundance of its mineral resources, the 

B 13 



L..' 



14 THE WESTERN PLAIN. 

variety of its productions, the multiplicity and extent of 
its navigable communications, and its central position in 
relation to our continent, it will be conceded that there is 
none which better deserves to be described and studied. 

The term valley — the valley of the Mississippi— 
which is popularly applied to this region, does not ex- 
press its real character, as it is in fact a plain, one of the 
most remarkable features of which, is the great extent of 
level surface embraced within its area ; for although un- 
dulations, and even hills, sometimes swell before the eye 
of the traveler, the general plane is almost invariable. The 
dillerence in elevation over its whole surface — leaving out 
of view a few unimportant local inequalities — is only a 
few feet. There is, however, a gradual declination from 
the north east, towards the southwest. This will become 
obvious from an examination of the annexed table, com- 
piled by Colonel Long, and founded on actual observa- 
tions had in his expedition to the sources of the St. Peter 
river. 

A tabic shewing the probable altitiules, in feet, of the water level, at 
a variety of points therein specified, above tide water. 

Points Indicated. Elevation, 

Mouth of the Oliio River 300 

Ohio River at Cincinnati - - - - -414 

Do. at the mouth of Sciota River - - 464 
Do. at the mouth of Muskingrum River - 541 
Surface of Lake Erie; River des Plaines 20 miles 
above its mouth ; Mississippi at the head of the 
rapids Des Moines ; and the Ohio, a few miles be- 
low Wheeling, Va. _ . . - - 565 
liakes Huron and Michigan » - - - 571 
Lake vSuperior --»---- 595 

Tlie Oliio at Pittsburgh ; the Mississippi at St. Peters ; 

and the Missouri at the mouth of the River La Platte 680 
Sources of the St. Peter and Red Rivers - - - 830 
Source of the T\Iaskingum ----- 902 

vSource of Big Beaver - - - - - - 907 

Source of the Sciota ------ 919 

Source of the Miami ------ 964 

Lfike of the Woods - - - - - 1040 

Rainy Lake 1100 



TOPOGRAPHY. 15 

Points Indicated. Elevation, 

Sources of the streams on the route of the Expedi- 
tion, tributary to lakes Winnepeck and Superior; 
and head waters of the Mississippi - - - 1200 

Dog Lake 1000 

Lake Winnepeck ------ G30 

Tliese elevations may be relied upon, as possessing all 
the accuracy desirable for the purpose of topographical 
description, having been derived from sources entitled to 
tlie higltest credit. They have reference to the water 
surface, and shew, that from Pittsburgh, the Ohio river 
has a descent of less than four hundred feet, to its 
mouth, — a distance, by its meanders, of eleven hundred 
miles ; and that from the sources of the Mississippi to 
the same point, the descent is only about seven hundred 
feet. The surface of the plain itself approaches still 
nearer to an actual level. Its north east corner near 
Pittsburgh, lies about seven hundred feet above the 
tides ; the plains of Kentucky and West-Tennessee are 
about the same height, and as we proceed westwardly 
up the Missouri or Arkansas, we reach similar elevations. 
These are tlie exterior limits of the plain which de- 
scends as well from the Rocky Mountains, as from the 
Alleghenies, towards the Mississippi. 

" The great and numerous rivers that cross this plain," 
gays an acute writer in the American Quarterly Review, 
"instead of forming distinct valleys, do but indent nar- 
row lines or grooves into its surface, barely sufficient to 
contain their floods. These river channels, as the cur- 
rent rolls on, must form a declivity, and towards the 
lower parts of their courses sink deep into the plain ; 
hence the large rivers, Ohio, Missouri and others, seem 
bordered -with abrupt hills of several hundred feet eleva- 
tion ; but the tops of these hills are the level of the great 
plain, and are formed by smaller streams which fall into 
those large rivers, where their channels are thus worn 
down ; and to give themselves an easy slope, these 



16 TOPOGRAPHY. 

streams must wear down, in a corresponding manner the 
neighboring parts of the plain ; and presenting abrupt 
points between them, shew the appearance of river hills." 
We give the language of another, in this instance, rather 
than our own, that our views may be corroborated by 
those of other persons. 

When we take into view the level surface, its uniformi- 
ty of conformation, and the fact that it rests on a con- 
tinuous stratum of rock, which is found to preserve its 
horizontal position with remarkable regularity, it is not 
surprising that comparatively few water courses take their 
rise within the more central parts of its limits, and that 
the subterranean currents, which are abundant, seldom 
rise to the surface, but find vent upon the margins of 
streams, where the valley has been washed down to their 
level. Rich as our country is in noble rivers, almost all 
of those of superior magnitude take their rise in the dis- 
tant mountains, and receive comparatively but little trib- 
ute from the wide regions through which they roll; and 
thus the great streams, which in the spring of the year, 
when swelled by heavy rains, and by the melting snows 
of the mountains, fill their banks to overflowing, become 
exhausted in the summer and autumn, by undergoing in 
their long meandering courses, the impoverishing pro- 
cesses of evaporation and absorption, while they receive 
but little accession from their tributaries. The Ohio, 
Missouri, Cumberland, Tennessee, Arkansas, Red 
River, and all the great rivers of Tennessee and Ken- 
tucky, take their rise in the mountains, and the Missis- 
sippi flows from a region beyond the limits of our plain ; 
the Illinois, Wabash, Sciota, Muskingum, Miami, and 
others of secondary importance, originate i-n the interior 
of the plain, and afford but little water during the dry 
part of the season. 

The formation of this plain, as the reader will have 
already discovered, is secondary. It rests upon a hori- 



CHARACTER OF FORMATION. 17 

zontal limestone pan, of such depth that its thick strata 
have never been pierced through, although the auger has 
penetrated into it in search of salt water, in many places, 
from four to six hundred feet. The rock lies but a few 
feet below the surface, and supports throughout its whole 
extent, strata of bituminous coal, and saline impregna- 
tions. To the decomposition of tliis limestone may be 
attributed, in part, the fertility of tlie soil, while its ab- 
sorbent and cavernous nature, prevents the accumulation 
of swamps and standing pools, and renders the whole 
plain dry and salubrious, in a remarkable degree. The 
most strikinof indications of the cavernous character of 
the limestone, are to be seen in Kentucky and Tennessee, 
where gigantic caves extend their varied and gloomy 
ramifications, throughout the whole of tlie sub sir at a of 
widely extended districts. The curious have explored 
some of these cavities for many miles, and spent succes- 
sive days, in examining their winding passages, and pro- 
digious chambers, without being able to discover their 
umiost limits. The same singular configuration of the 
limestone is inferred, in other places, in nearly all the 
western states, by the existence of curious depressions 
of the earth, popularly called sink holes, which are deep 
funnel shaped cavities, sinking abruptly from the surface 
of the soil, and extending down to that of the rock, and 
which are doubtless caused by the dropping of the earthy 
particles, through some fissure of the limestone. These 
holes are often found in large groupes, when they pre- 
sent a most singular appearance. They are usually dry; 
but instances occur, where the outlet at the bottom having 
become choked by some impervious substance, the rain 
water accumulates, and remains unexhausted throughout 
the year. 

In the year 1811, a series of earthquakes continued for 
a few months, to sliake the whole southern portion of 
this immense district. The region of Kentucky south 

B 3 



18 CHARACTER OF FORMATION- 

of Green river, and soiitliern parts of Illinois and Mis- 
souri, formed the chief scenes of this alarming phenome- 
non, tlie vibrations of which were however felt in a 
slight degree in the liigher latitudes of the plain. The 
shocks were sufficiently severe to prostrate chimnies, and 
to cause the timbers of log and framed houses to be shaken, 
and even separated. At New Madrid on the Mississippi, 
the eartli yawned, and the inhabitants were driven from 
their homes ; and at one point in that vicinity, so large a 
quantity of water is said to have been engulphed in a chasra 
beneath the bed of the river, that this mighty river ceased 
for a moment to roll its waters towards the ocean. The 
latter statement, liowever, must be received with caution, 
as it rests solely upon the liasty observations of a few 
panic stricken voyagers, through an almost uninhabited 
region. The terror caused by this visitation was very 
great, and it still continues to be a prominent subject in 
the traditions of tluit part of the country. But there is 
not the sliHitest reason for believino- in tlie existence of 
any permanent causes, which would render this plain li- 
able to such occurrences. In the thirty-six years which 
have subsequently elapsed, the alarm has not been re- 
peated ; while the uniformity of the surface of this coun- 
try, and the remarkable absence of the appearances that 
indicate the disruption of the strata, shew that such 
events had not occurred in earlier times. 

The first settlers, and the earliest travelers, spoke of 
hurricanes of vast extent and tremendous power, as 
among the peculiar phenomena of this plain ; but their 
statements have not been confirmed by experience. Those 
■who travel over uninhabited countries, or reside in tem- 
porary dwellings in the Avilderness, are exposed in a 
greater degree tlian ordinary, to the accidents of the 
seasons, and are apt to magnify those usual occurrences, 
which might have passed unobserved under other v^ircum- 
stances, when less personal inconvenience or danger 



CHARACTER OF FORMATION. 19 

would have resulted from tliem. Tlie diversities of tem- 
per, and of physical organisation, are so numerous, that 
we should receive with great distrust, any observations 
upon climate, detailed by persons who are exposed to ils 
action for a season, and who neither make deliberate sci- 
entific experiments, nor report a series of facts, carefully 
recorded. 

The same course of reasoning may be applied to the 
alledffed variability, and the reputed unhealthiness, of 
our climate. Facts of such grave importance should not 
be considered as settled, by that common rumor, whose 
want of veracity is so notorious. The results of patient 
and careful investigation, by competent men of science, 
will hereafter decide these points, and will, in our opinion, 
shew that the current reports in relation to these matters, 
have been in direct opposition to tlie truth. 

When we speak of the present advantages, and future 
greatness, of the West, it is proper that we should dis- 
criminate, so as not to deceive those wlio liave not the 
means of judging for themselves. The climate differs but 
little from tliat of corresponding parallels of latitude, in 
the United States. So far as health is concerned, we 
suppose the advantage to lie on our side of the mountains, 
while in reference to vegetation, there is no observable 
difference. 

Neither is there any supernatural fertility in our soil, 
which yields its rich returns only under the operation of 
careful and laborious tillage. It is the great breadth and 
continuity of our fertile surface, which gives to the West 
its superior advantages. It is the accumulation within 
one wide and connected plain, of the most vast resources 
of agricultural and commercial wealth ; and the facilities af- 
forded by our country, for concentrating and using an un- 
limited amount of wealth, and bringing into combined ac- • 
tion the energies of millions of industrious human beings, 
on which are based the broad foundations of our greatness. 



20 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

"With the breadth of an empire, we have all the facili- 
ties for intercourse and trade, which could be enjoyed 
within more limited boundaries. Our natural wealtli is 
not weakened by extension, nor our vigor impaired by 
division. 'Die riclies of soil, timber, and minerals, are 
so diffused as to be every where abundant ; and the com- 
munication between distant points is so easy as to render 
tlie whole available. The products of the industry of 
millions may be here interchanged with unparalleled ease 
and rapidity ; and when our broad lands shall be settled, 
there will be a community of interest, and an intimacy 
of intercourse, between myriads of men, such as were 
never before brought under the operation of a common 
system of social and civil ties. 

The mineral resources are abundant. The coal, which 
is pure and excellent, spreads throughout the M'hole re- 
gion, and is in most places easily accessible. Iron ore 
abounds generally : especially in Pennsylvania, Tennes- 
see and Missouri, and the best ore is said to yield seven- 
ty-five per cent, of fine malleable iron. At Pittsburgh 
and Cincinnati, but particularly at tlie former place, this 
metal is wrought into a great variety of manufactures. 
The lead districts of Illinois and Missouri, would cover 
two luindred miles square, and form undoubtedly the 
richest region of that metal Avhich has been discovered 
on any part of the globe. The French resorted to these 
mines many years ago, but it is only recently that their 
extent and value have been made known ; yet sometliing 
like twenty millions of pounds of lead have been smelted 
at them, in the course of one year, and there is no ques- 
tion of their capacity to afford a permanent supply of that 
useful metal to the whole civilized world. The cavernous 
region of Kentucky has been found to be strongly im- 
pregnated with salt-petre, of which vast quantities have 
been made and exported. Copper has long had a tradi- 
tionary existence, in the neighborhood of the north wes- 



THE RIVER OHIO. 21 

tern lakes. The ore has been found in small quantities 
in different places, and at one spot a solid mass weighing 
several tons, of remarkable purity, has attracted the at- 
tention of the curious; but it is only within a few years 
past that rich and extensive mines of this mineral have 
been discovered. Salt is an important article of manu- 
facture. Saline springs are distributed throughout the 
whole region, some of which are copious and strongly 
impregnated. On an average, one hundred and twenty 
gallons of the water will make sixty pounds of salt, but 
it is much stronger in some places than at others. Of the 
mineral waters the chalybeate is most frequently found, 
impregnations of pure suiphur are common ; those of 
copperas, alum, and sulphate of magnesia, are occasion- 
ally met with. 

In treating the subjects under consideration more in de- 
tail, we shall be under the necessity of dividing the re- 
gion under consideration into two separate districts, and 
to speak occasionally of the valley of the Ohio, and that 
of the Mississippi ; for although the whole forms, in 
fact, one great, and remarkably uniform plain, there are 
yet some striking peculiarities which distinguish each of 
these rivers, as well as the lands lying upon their mar- 
gins. Of these peculiarities I propose to treat under the 
several heads into which this work will be divided. 



CHAPTER II. 

The River Ohio. 



It may be well to commence our rapid sketch of this 
river, with an attempt to explain the etymology of its 
name. We shall, however, do no more than present the 
views of messrs. Duponceau and Heckewelder, — two 
gendemen who have bestowed great attention upon the 



22 THE RIVER OHIO. 

aboriginal languages of our country, — as expressed in a 
paper in the Transactions of the American Philosophical 
Society. 

From this communication, it appears evident, thai the 
idea, which has prevailed to some extent, that the word 
Ohio is derived from the Iroquois language, is not correct. 
It has been said, that the Iroquois Indians called the Ohio 
the fine or beautiful and sometimes the bloody river. 
Mr. Duponceau examined the vocabularies of that lan- 
guage, for the words corresponding with these terms, and 
became satisfied that the word Ohio was not derived from 
them. Farther examination, satisfied his mind that the 
position taken by Mr. Heckewelder, is correct, whicli is, 
that the term Ohio is derived from a word or words in the 
Delaware language, which mean the while or the while 
foaming river. 

Mr. Heckewelder expresses the opinion that the four 
letters composing the word Ohio do not comprise the 
whole of the Indian name. His reasons are the following : 

1st, That the names given by the Indians to rivers, are 
invariably descriptive either of those streams or some- 
thing about them. 

2nd, That he had never heard the Indians call this 
river by the name of Ohio. 

3d, Because the French and English, in using Indian 
names, are accustomed to drop a part of them, to render 
the pronunciation easy. 

Mr. Heckewelder then gives a list of words from which 
he argues that this name has been derived ; some of 
which, with their meaning in the English language, are 
here quoted. 

O'hui — Ohi, very. 

O'peu, white. 

Opelechen, bright, shining. 

Opeek, white with froth. 

Ohiopechen, it is of a white color. 



THE RIVER OHIO. 23 

Oliiopeek, very white, (caused by froth or white caps.) 

Ohiophanne, very white stream. 

Ohiopeekhanne, very deep and white stream, (by its 
being covered over with white caps.) 

Ohiopehhele, which signifies white frothy water. 

Mr. Heckewelder then adds, " The Ohio river being 
in many places wide and deep, and so gentle, that for 
many miles, in some places, no current is perceivable : 
the least wind, blowing up the river, covers the surface 
with what the people of that country call white caps ; 
and I have myself, for days together, witnessed that this 
has been the case, caused by southwardly and souili-west- 
wardly winds, so that we, navigating the canoes, durst 
not venture to proceed, as these white caps would have 
filled and sunk our canoe in a minute. Now in all such 
cases, when the river could not be navigated by canoes, 
nor even crossed with this kind of craft — when the whole 
surface of the water presented white foaming swells, the 
Indians would, as the case was at the time, apply one or 
other of the above quoted words to the state of the river ; 
they would say ' juh Ohiopicchen,' ' Ohiopeek ohio- 
peekhanne ;' and when they supposed the water very 
deep, they would say, ' Kitschi ohiopeekhanne,' which 
means, ' verily this is a deep white river.' 

Again recurring to the habit of abbreviating Indian 
words, so generally prevalent among the French and Ame- 
ricans, Mr. Heckewelder concludes his interesting remarks 
upon this subject, with the supposition that at an early 
day, the emigrants to the west, took the first syllable of 
the Indian name ' Ohiopekhanne,' because both easy to 
pronounce and to keep in the memory. 

The river Ohio, for some distance below Pittsburgh is 
rapid, and the navigation interrupted in low water by 
chains of rock extendino' across the bed of the river. 
The scenery is eminently beautiful, though deficient in 
grandeur, and exhibiting great sameness. The hills, two 



24 THE RIVER OHIO, 

or three hundred feet in height, approach the river, and 
confine it closely on either side. I'heir tops have usual- 
ly a rounded and graceful form, and are covered with the 
verdure of an almost unbroken forest. Sometimes tlie 
forest trees are so thinly scattered as to afford glimpses of 
the soil, with here and there a mass, or a perpendicular 
precipice, of grey sandstone, or compact limestone, the 
prevailing rocks of this region. The hills are usually 
covered on all sides with a soil, which though not deep;. 
is rich. 

Approaching towards Cincinnati, the scenery become? 
still more monotonous. The hills recede from the river 
and are less elevated. The bottom lands begin to spread 
out from the margin of the water. Heavy forests cover 
the banks, and limit the prospect. But the woodland is 
arrayed in a splendor of beauty, which renders it the 
chief object of attraction. Nothing can be more beauti- 
ful, than the first appearance of the vegetation in the 
spring, Avhen the woods are seen rapidly discarding the 
dark and dusky habiliments of winter, and assuming tlieir 
vernal robes. The gum tree is clad in the richest green ; 
the dogwood and red-bud are laden with flowers of the 
purest white and deepest scarlet; the buckeye bends un- 
der the weiglit of its exuberant blossoms. The oak, the 
elm, the walnut, the sycamore, the beech, the hickory, 
and the maple, which here tower to a great lieight, have 
yielded to the sunbeams, and display their bursting buds, 
and expanding flowers. The tulip tree waves its long 
branches, and its yellow flowers high in the air. Tlie 
wild rose, the sweet-briar, and the vine, are shooting in- 
to verdure ; and clinging to their sturdy neighbors, mod- 
estly prefer their claims to admiration, while they aflbrd 
deliglitful promise of fruit and fragrance. 

The scenery still exhibits the same appearance, as we 
continue to descend the river, except tliat the hills gradu- 
ally become less bold and rocky. The shores of the 



THE RIVER OHIO. 25 

Oliio do not any where present that savage grandeur, 
M'hich often characterises our larger streams. No tall 
cliffs, no bare peaks, nor sterile mountains, impress a sen- 
timent of dreariness on the mind. The hills are high, 
but gracefully curved, and every where clothed with ver- 
dure. There is a loneliness arising from the absence of 
population, a wildness in the variegated hues of the 
forest, and in the notes of the feathered tribes ; but the 
traveler feels none of that depression which results from 
a confe^.iousness of entire insulation from his species, 
none of that aAve which is inspired by those terrific out- 
lines that display the convulsions of nature or threaten 
the existence of the beholder. It is impossible to gaze 
on the fertile hills and rich bottoms that extend on either 
side, without fancying them peopled ; and even where no 
signs of population appear, the imagination is continually 
reaching forward to the period when these luxuriant spots 
shall maintain their millions. 

The absence of population alluded to, is to be consid- 
ered in a comparative sense. With Ohio, Indiana and Il- 
linois on the one hand, and Kentucky and Virginia on the 
otlier, there can be no dearth of inhabitants ; but their 
dwellings are less frequently presented to the traveler's 
eye than might be supposed. AVe continually pass villages, 
great or small, and farm houses are scattered along the 
shore ; but we often float for miles without discovering 
any indication of the residence of human beings. Many of 
the river bottoms are inundated annually, and lund has not 
yet become so scarce or valuable as to induce the owners 
to reclaim these spots from the dominion of the water. 
Such places remain covered with gigantic timber, which 
conceals the habitations beyond them. The commanding 
eminences are seldom occupied, because the settlers are 
farmers, who consult convenience, rather than beauty, in 
the location of their dwellings, and who generally pitch 
their tents in the vicinity of a spring, upon the low grounds^ 

C 



26 THE RIVER OHIO. 

One peculiarity, which is common to this river and the 
Mississippi, and is perhaps owing as well to their great 
volume of water, as to the nature ot the secondary formation 
through which they roll, is tlie rounded and graceful 
shape of their meanders. The noble stream, clear, 
smooth, and unruffled, sweeps onward with regular ma- 
jestic force. Continually ciianging its direction, as it 
flows from vale to vale, it always winds with dignity, and 
avoiding those acute angles which are observable in less 
powerful streams, sweeps round in graceful bends. The 
word bend is very significantly applied, in the popular 
phraseology of this region, to express these curvatures 
of the river. 

The beautiful islands, which are numerous, should not 
be forgotten. These are sometimes large and fertile, but 
generally subject to inundation, and seldom under tillage. 
Sometimes they are mere sandbanks, covered with thick 
groves of the melancholy willow, whose branches dip 
into the water. The term tow-head, is significantly ap- 
plied to the latter, by the boatmen. 

Below the Falls of Ohio, we find a country, not essen- 
tially different from that above, but presenting a different 
appearance to the eye, as viewed from the river. The 
change has been so gradual, that the traveler only now 
begins to realise a diversity of surface, soil, and climate 
The country is flat, the soil is deep, black, and rich. 
Small ranges of hills are seen at intervals ; but the rock 
foundation is seldom exposed to the eye. The river- 
bottoms become more extensive, exhibit decided appear- 
ances of annual inundation, and are intersected by bay- 
oiiXf or deep inlets, which are channels for the water in 
time of flood, and remain empty during the rest of the 
year. Cane-brakes are occasionally seen along the banks. 
The cane is an evergreen, from twelve to twenty feet in 
height, which grows chiefly in rich flats. It stands so 
thick upon the ground, as to form an almost impenetrable 



THE RIVER OHIO. 27 

thicket, and as it is usually, in this region, found among 
ponds and hayoux^ the cane-brake is always a secure re- 
treat for bears, which feed upon the buds, and for deer 
and other gregarious animals. The first settlers find them 
very valuable, as affording food for their cattle during the 
winter ; and even after the country has been many years 
settled, the inhabitants drive their cattle to the cane in the 
autumn, and suffer them to remain without any further 
attention until the ensuing spring. The cane, however, 
is generally destroyed in a few years, by the large num- 
ber of cattle which are thus wintered upon it. Cattle and 
horses eat it greedily, and will stray several miles in 
search of this favorite food, which is said to be very 
nourishing. 

Cotton-wood, peccans, catalpas, and gigantic syca- 
mores, are now seen in the rich bottoms. Extensive 
groves of cotton-wood sometimes clothe the shores of the 
river. Tlie tree is large, and extremely tall ; the foliage 
of a rich deep green, resembling that of the Lombardy 
poplar^ to wliich tree this also assimilates somewhat in 
shape. Nothing can exceed the beauty of these groves : 
at a distance, a stranger might imagine them forests of 
Lombardy poplar ; and as that tree is devoted to orna- 
mental purposes, it is scarcely possible to refrain from 
fancying, that some splendid mansion is concealed in the 
impervious shade ; while the deep gloom Avith which 
they envelop the soil, gives a wild, pensive, and solemn 
character, to the cotton tree grove. 

The catalpa is a small graceful tree, rerrxarkable for the 
beauty of its flowers. The peccan is a tall tree, resem- 
bling the hickory, to which it is nearly related ; it yields 
a rich, fine nut, of which large quantities are annually 
exported. It is found on the margin of the Ohio and 
Wabash for a short distance above and below the junction 
of those rivers, and within the corresponding parallel on 
the Mississippi, but not elsewhere in this region. Grape- 



28 THE RIVER OHIO. 

vines are numerous and very large, the stems being some 
times nearly a foot in thickness, though seldom exceeding 
six or eight inches, and the branches extending to the 
tops of the tallest trees. 

The misletoe is seen hanging from the branches of the 
trees throughout the whole course of the Ohio. It be- 
comes more abundant after passing Cincinnati, and is 
seen in the greatest profusion between Louisville and the 
mouth of the river. This little plant never grows upon 
the ground, but with a very poetic taste, takes up its attic 
residence upon the limbs of the tallest trees. The berry 
which contains the seed, is so viscous as to adhere to the 
feet of birds, who carry it from tree to tree, and thus 
contribute to the propagation of this ornamental parasite. 

The paroquet is now seldom seen north of Cincinnati. 
They are abundant below Louisville, where tlocks of 
them are heard chattering in the woods, or beheld sport 
ing their bright green plumage in the sunbeams. 

One of the most remarkable characteristics of this, and 
other western rivers, is the vast and rapid accumulation 
in the volume of water which takes place, usually in the 
spring, but occasionally at other seasons, and is caused 
by the immense extent of the territory drained. 

When the waters are low, as is commonly the case, in 
the dry seasons of the summer and autumn, the majestic 
Ohio dwindles to a small stream, affording but limited 
facilities for navigation. Among the hills of Pennsvl- 
vania and Virginia, it is seen rippling over chains of rock, 
through which a passage is barely afforded to boats of 
the lightest burthen. Further down, its channel is but 
rarely obstructed by ledges of rock ; but instead of these, 
a series of sandbars, extending in some places from shore 
to shore, and in others projecting from the margin of the 
river far into its bed, and covered by but a few inches of 
■water, render the navigation almost impracticable. Steam 
boats constructed for the purpose, and navigated by skill- 



THE RIVER OHIO. 29 

fill pilots, ply with difficulty from port to port. Many 
are grounded upon the bars, from which perilous situa- 
tion some are relieved with great labor, while others are 
obliged to remain exposed to the elements, during the 
rest of the season, and are either lost, or seriously injured. 
The larger boats are wholly useless during this part of 
the vear ; and of the hundreds of noble vessels that are 
seen at other times actively plying upon these rivers, 
freighted with rich cargoes, the greater portion now lie 
inactive. 

As a general rule, it may be stated that the water is 
lowest during the months of July, August, and Septem- 
ber. The autumnal months are frequently dry, and the 
river remains low, in that case, until the winter. More 
usually there are slight rises of water throiigliout the fall 
season, which render the navigation practicable ; and as 
the weather becomes cold, tliere is a gradual increase in 
the volume of water. Throughout the winter, tlie fre- 
quent changes from cold to moderate weatlier, produce 
rains and rapid thaws, which occasion a series of freshets, 
and afford an ample supply of water. 

The change from the severe cold of the winter, to the 
higher temperature of spring, is usually sudden, and is 
attended by the precipitation of vast floods into the clian- 
nels of the larger rivers. The snows that lie deep upon 
the Allegheny mountains, are rapidly melted, and the 
immense mass of water which is thus produced upon the 
whole of the western declivity of that wide chain, from the 
borders of New York to those of North Carolina, are 
thrown into the Ohio. If the melting of the snow 
is accompanied by heavy and general rains, which is 
often the case, it will be seen that causes are brought into 
operation, of sufficient magnitude to produce the most 
astonishing results. The long and deep channels of the 
rivers become filled to overflowing, the islands sink be- 
neath the surface, the alluvial bottoms and lowlands are 

c2 



*{0 I'llK lilVlH OHIO. 

«'(>V(M'«m1, iind Wf i\'.\v.v upon ;i muihs o{' wnlriH, (lie iinincii 
•ily i»l ^^ hull v'voutos t« (('rliuji oT mwc, :im w rll ;is oT lulcuso 
Ptll'ioHily. 

'I'Ims .'U'rmrnil:i(ion im MllriMlnl uilli lull romp.trnlnclv 
(\'\v imoMN riunuTs, mimI scMicrly :mv «l:miMM", wliiU' ilN 
briiol'nM.i! cHlriMH mh> iiioulruliibly ^itmI. The :inMn;;o- 
inrnlw ol l*n>vi(l(M\«M\ inlrntlcd lov \\\v iu\\ :\\\\i\yy ol" iniin, 
lunvovrr ^if,';:uili(' mimI UMCoiilroUnMc, scltlom r;inY \\ illi 
\\\r\u uny csuinr lot Icnor. W <^ h;i\r none ol those suil- 
llnti juul prtMMpiiouH Ihioils. whuh m i\)«)uut!UUotiH distrirtit, 
MV HomrlimcN jmuikmI »1ou m upon llio v:»II<'\ s, with uiiox- 
pcM'Iril > lolonro. MlloMilod l>y >vnlrspv(vul dtsolnliou of lilt) 
;nul piopri'ly. Dm ini'in risn \\\[\\ inpuhlv until i\\o 
olinnnols lu'conu' utMvU lilliMJ : l»ul ns the \\. iters swrll 
(t> \\w lun\k, llu' \vuith Mud r:iji:ttMly ol \\\rsv rcsrrxoirs 
l>o«'oni(' RO m'oal, {\\v inlrlf« .-uul hiMMidus so nninoious, 
iht> lowltnuN 1t» ho eovn'od no w ulr, th;it tho p(Mpondu'ul;tr 
OCOAHlUtlMlion ol the \ i>huuo hccontcs sh)\v ;iud >j;r:ulu;\l. 
\\\rY loMviu^j iho imuuHii;\lo n\i;iot» ol" th(> luouiilMms, tho 
d«^sr<>ul ol iho wmUm' ot)Ui\sON is po jjvadvi.'d, ms to provtM\l 
the lh>t»d lioui roilmji' lor>VMvd with vi(»hMUM\ while llu> 
«-h:uu\<ds pvi^piuj'd lof It \>\ ti;»ttir(\ Mud plniutrd tip«>u th«> 
most »\»;»^;iul\*'ru( sralr. mvo loo luuuiMtsc^ to he v:iptdly 
(\llrd l*> i»V(Mth»wm}i. 

It\ spoidviuij of the lowhttuls whioh Iiotdi'v ou llu^ xwcv 
(^hio, \\ o \iMo :\ phv;\s«\ \\ huh is rouipMvnln r lu its in\- 
povl. WhtMi l!io walors nro low, ov cww sit tho uu dium 
lioi^hl wlurh ulVords s:\lo tisn ii);Uii>n lov tho hwjivsl vossrls. 
Ihr voynj^r'r wro?* tlm alhivinl h:u\Ks hi^h idxno !)in\ on 
(Mtliov h;\ud. Mxd c:\n sc\\\vr\\ iiuiij^iiu' th;U ;Mn rounu'- 
IvtU'O ot' orduiMvy n;ituv;\l o;\u>s(\s. o;»n pvoduoo a vv>hnno 
or wntov ot' »utUoirt\t n\;\ji\\it\ulo Tor thoir siduntM'sion. 
*V\\v intMvuso ol" wnttM" th(M"tM\>ix\ to l?u> j>t>int ;\t whirh iu- 
und;M\ot\ «-ouu\\(M\i'(\s. is not tlu' w vnk o( ;ui hour nor o( 
',\ dnV' — it IN iu>i hlvo tlu' li.isty risuiii ol" :i hro»>k. iu>v tho 
rush ot" :i i\\oinit:un tonviit — hut llio \n>wovrul ^JWollinu' of 



THF. niVKU OHTO. 



ni 



a ftToat Blroiuu, incroiisin^ Aviih f;rii(lii:>l niul majostic 
projirrcNsion, nnil allonliii^ lo man and brnic, dnc n<>lii'<» 
of ilM approaclu In ho Uufxo a volnnn? of \val<M', it. will 
nlno hr n^adily nnilcr.slood iIimI l\w Wn'co of tln^ ('\nT«Mif. 
\\ \\\ Ix' Mt\u' il;i fcnirc, llic portion lliiil, rolls in roiii:irl. 
uilli llic l);inl\.s wdl liav(? a retarded niolu>n, wliih' that, 
uliicli ovcrlhnvs tlio llat lands, will bo sta/^nanl, or llow 
jrontly l)ack\vard in oddios. Surh in fact, is tlio invaria- 
ble opniiln))) oj" tliorto fj^ivi\\. causeH ; and alilionj^li donios- 
lic annnalM wliirli linj^fM* on tln^ iiijvlirr .Hj)otH oitho nhoro 
until tho snrronndinj^\ lands ar(» iniinorsod, iuid tlwir roln'at 
is (Mit, of, nro H«)nnMinu\M drowned, ioid althon^li leiuM's nro 
(jollied oil", llwre is never, ^^\\ nny ol the oM-rllowed lauds, 
a Ntren^^tli ol current. ^;reat enough to sweep away per- 
nuMUMit. dwidlin^rs, or to <'ndan^er (ho lives of uumi or 
eatlle, M'hern ordinary prudence is used. 

As the waters rise, trade :iiid navigation :ne (|uickenocl 
into activity. The larjrest vessels now float in safety ; 
the steam boat of six hundred tons burthen, is as secure; 
from the dan/»;«M'S of tlu^ river luivij^ation as tln^ lif;htest 
skill'; ;md it is :i nolde mi<\IiI to behold these niiinenso 
vessels, darting alou)^ with the current, with all the addi- 
tional velocity which can be jiriven by a pow<M'ful enj^in<% 
or sUMumin^r with :ip|ian<nt ease the rolling torrent, whoso 
iiMMieuse bulk seenis to ^ivo it a fearful energy, vvbic^ 
no human uu'ans mijirht attempt to overconw. 

At this season tln^ spectator who is stationed u|)<)n tli(! 
shore,— -perhaps at a spot where no human dwellin/j is 
wilhin HJohi, mid where the w ildcniess is uiil;imed :iiid 
unallcnMl,—- sees these vessels passing in r;ipid successiori, 
— -not utdVeipu'utly several at the san>e tinu< bein^' visible 
— Inden so heavily that lh(< whole hull is immersed, :iiid 
it would seem as it" the le;ist :iddiliou;d wcii'ht would 
HJuk tlieiii. 

'f'lu' Ibil bollomed bonis sire :ilso munerons ;il this sen- 
pa)U. '.riieso are built along the whores of the river, but 



32 THE RIVER OHIO. 

more frequently on its tributary streams, and often on the 
smaller rivers and creeks, far inland, and at points beyond 
the reach of all ordinary navigation. Here they lie, with 
their cargoes, waiting until the annual rise of water shall 
afford them the means of proceeding upon their voyages ; 
when they are floated off, with their immense freights, 
consisting chiefly of the heavier articles of the produce 
of the country. 

The highest rise of water M^hich has been known for 
many years, was the great flood of 1832, with regard to 
which our friend Dr. John Locke of Cincinnati, has been 
kind enough to furnish us with the following memoranda, 
of observations made by himself at that city, and which 
are rendered valuable, by the undoubted accuracy and 
skill of that gentleman in his philosophical investigations. 

The section of the river opposite to Walnut street, 
Cincinnati, at low water, would be 1006 feet wide at the 
surface, and 7 feet deep, at the deepest place. The area 
would be 4774 square feet. 

The rise of water which commenced early in February 
1832, reached its greatest elevation on the 18th day of 
that month, when it was 63 feet perpendicular above the 
low water mark ; and the sectional area became 91,464 
square, feet, without including its extension over the 
i)wer parts of Cincinnati and Covington. The number 
of cubic feet discharged per hour, was - 2,998,529,714 
The number of cubic feet discharged per 

minute, was 48,308,828 

The number of cubic feet discharged per 

second, was 805,147 

The velocity of the stream was ascertained to be 6j 
miles per hour. 

Such a stream would fill a lake, presenting an area of 
one square mile, 107 feet deep, in one hour. 

Having ascertained the quantity of water discharged, 
the next inquiry was in relation to the sources of i^^ 



THE RIVER OHIO. 33 

flood. The first point to be examined was m reference 
to the area of the valley of the Ohio, and its waters, 
above Cincinnati, or in other words, the extent of the 
surface drained by the tributaries which are discharged 
into the Ohio, above our city. 

Square Miles 

This valley includes about | of Ohio, - - 27,000 

I of Virginia, 27,000 

I of Kentucky, 7,000 
3 of Pennsylvania, 14,500 

of New York, ],000 

of Maryland, 500 

of N. Carolina, 500 



Total, 77,000 
By calculation it appears that a depth of four inches 
only, over this immense space of seventy seven thousayid 
square miles, was sufficient to maintain the river at the 
above uncommon height and velocity for fourteen days. 
The winter of 1831-2 had been unusually severe, and 
the ground was frozen to a great depth, when there sud- 
denly fell, according to the register of Dr. Hildreth of 
Marietta, eight inches of rain. Ordinarily, most of the 
water which falls to the earth, is absorbed by it ; but in 
this instance the surface being completely sealed, the 
whole of the water which fell, was suddenly thrown into 
the channels of the rivers. This appears to be a probable 
and sufficient cause, for tlie inundation which destroyed 
so much property, and caused so much distress and 
alarm. If it be the true theory, it follows that no such 
flood can happen in the temperate months, nor at any 
season, except upon a conjunction of circumstances, so 
rarely occurring in combination, as to render its recur- 
rence probable only at remote periods — perhaps not more 
frequently than once in a century. 

A general law in relation to freshets in rivers, is, that 
the water attains its greatest elevation at a point nearly 



34 THE RIVER OHIO. 

midway in the length of the stream. The rule applies 
usually to each stream proper — each having its separate 
valley ; and would be operative upon the Ohio, within 
the limits embraced by its name, beginning at Pittsburgh, 
and ending at its confluence with the Mississippi. The 
application of such a law, cannot however be very exact, 
as it will be modified by a variety of circumstances. It 
can only be assumed as a fact of usual occurrence, grow- 
ing out of very obvious reasons, that, the causes which 
produce a freshet, act with powerful and rapidly aug 
menting force, to a point somewhere nearly midway of 
the course of the stream, from which point the counter 
acting causes begin to operate, and the volume becomes 
diminished in depth by the greater width of the channel, 
by absorption upon the overflowed grounds, by evapora^ 
tion, and by other means. Assuming Cincinnati to be 
sufficiently near a central position, as regards the length 
of the Ohio, to satisfy this rule, we may suppose that 
the greatest periodical accumulation of water is at this 
point, and adopting the data afforded by the great rise in 
the spring of 1832, the height of sixty three feet may be 
safely given, as the maximum perpendicular increase 
above low water mark. 

The mass of water occasioned by these causes, comes 
loaded with floating logs and drift Avood, — not however 
in such quantities as to impede the navigation — and with 
alluvial soil, and silicious particles, swept from the shores ; 
and as the waters wliich spread over the bottom lands, 
soon become nearly stationary, the earthy matter held in 
suspension settles down, and adds a rich coat to the soil, 
while the floating wood is left in the same position by the 
subsiding of the flood. Hence the annual accumulation 
of (he alluvion lands ; and the regular formation, in con- 
sequence of whicli the surface is always found to be most 
elevated, near the margin of tlie strcam, where the fi;r&t 



THE RIVER OHIO. 35 

and most abundant deposite is made, as the water flows 
outward over the banks. 

In lower water the navigation of this river is impeded, 
in its upper portions by ledges of rock, and lower down, 
by snags and sandbars. These obstructions might un- 
doubtedly be removed ; and as there is scarcely any sub- 
ject of so much importance, it seems to us that there has 
been a singular apathy in the public mind in relation to it. 
The Ohio and Mississippi rivers stretch from one end to 
the other, of this great valley, and extend their larger 
tributaries throughout its whole breadth. The Atlantic 
itself does not, within our empire, wash so extensive a 
line of coast, or bear the freights of commerce to so many 
ports. Thirteen states and territories, embracing half the 
members of the union, and a still larger proportion of its 
surface, lie in contact with these waters, and are directly 
interested in their navigation. It is therefore as much a 
matter of national concern, and as important to the Amer- 
ican people, to improve the natural avenues of intercom- 
munication afforded by those rivers, as the protection of 
our commerce on the ocean by a naval force, or the con- 
struction of harbors and light-houses for its convenience. 
The one is a national commerce, not because it embraces 
an intercourse with foreign countries, but on account of 
its general utility, and of the numbers who enjoy its 
benefits ; and the other is equally national for the same 
reasons. Like the ocean too, this great thoroughfare is 
common to all. It is difficult to say which state is most 
interested in its trade and navigation, or where the line 
of demarkation would be drawn, which should separate 
the direct interest of one from anotlier, or shew where 
one ended and the other commenced. 

But these are precisely the kind of public improvements 
which have been, least of all, pressed upon the considera- 
tion of the general government. The western states, very 
•nroperly, consider themselves entitled to a liberal share 



36 THE RIVER OHIO. 

of SO much of tlie public treasure as may be set apart for 
such purposes ; for all of them, in which the land is 
owned by the government, have made concessions 
which far exceed the donations received by them. The 
appropriations of the general government, in aid of inter- 
nal improvements, have usually received their direction 
from calls made upon congress by the state legislatures; 
and the latter, influenced by sellishness, by personal con- 
siderations, and by that very natural species of patriotism 
which looks first at home, and only at home, have been 
in the habit of confining their recommendations, chiefly, 
to objects of public utility within their own boundaries. 
All of them have claimed assistance for their colleges, 
their common schools, their roads, or their canals : praise- 
worthy objects, upon which we care not how liberal, or 
now lavish, may be the expenditure of the federal trea- 
ure. But there has been an absence of that enlarged 
policy, which should have looked to results of wider and 
more permanent advantage to the whole west ; and which 
should have brought the combined interest of the whole 
to act for the general good. Appropriations of money 
for purposes of limited or doubtful utility have been 
passed with difficulty through the legislative branches of 
Ihe government, and have sometimes been arrested by 
the executive ; for they must struggle against selfishness, 
opposing interests, constitutional scruples, and even po- 
litical intrigue. But works like those under consideration, 
would be obnoxious to no objection, nor alarm any 
honest scruple ; and a weight of influence might be 
arrayed in their favor, which would look down every 
shadow of opposition. If the whole west should unite 
in demanding from the national treasury an appropriation 
sufficient to complete all the labors requisite to the im- 
provement of these rivers, no state, nor combination of 
states, could arrest the passage of a law which should pro- 
vide for so noble an object — Pennsylvania and Virginia 



THE RIVER OHIO. 37 

being parties concerned, and New York having a direct 
interest and connexion with the west, which would con- 
ciUate her favor. Among ourselves, there could be but 
one opinion. There is not a farmer, a merchant, nor an 
owner of real estate, in the west — not a man who has 
interests in common with those of his country, who 
would not be directly benefitted, by such improvements as 
ehould make the Ohio and Mississippi rivers navigable 
throughout the year. 

That such improvements are feasible, that they are 
within the scope of the means at the command of the 
nation, and strictly within the constitutional exercise of 
its power, are points, which we think will not now be 
disputed, by any reflecting mind. The rapids in the 
upper parts of these rivers, are composed of ledges of 
rock, or masses of loose stone, through which permanent 
channels may be made with facility. The snags, once 
go formidable, have been greatly diminished in number, 
and may be entirely removed. 

The reader is probably aware, that snags are formed 
by the trunks of large trees, which are precipitated into 
the river by the crumbling of the banks. The base of 
the stem, with its mass of lateral roots, would by its own 
weight be sunk to the bottom, but it is rendered still 
heavier by the mass of clay which adheres to it. This 
part therefore, sinks — the top of the tree floats, and is 
thrown into the direction of the current — the roots bury 
themselves in the mud, and the subsequent deposites of 
sand or earth, fix the obstruction firmly in the channel. 
The smaller branches of the tree soon drop off*, and the 
large limbs remain, pointing down the stream. When 
these sunken trees, are concealed beneath the surface, 
they are very dangerous to boats ascending the stream, 
which rushing upon them with the momentum given by 
a powerful steam engine, seldom fail, when they strike 
them, to have the hull of the vessel completely perforated. 



38 THE RIVER OHIO. 

This subject has already received some attention from 
Congress, and the results have been auspicious. Taking 
all that has been done together, little as it has been, we 
are not aware that any expenditure of public money has 
been more judicious. 

In the year 1819 an examination of the whole bed of 
the Ohio was made by a board of commissioners appoint- 
ed by the several states interested, whose report justified 
the hope that the navigation of this fine river was sus- 
ceptible of great improvement. / 

Subsequent examinations have afforded more minute 
details, tending to strengthen the opinion then entertained. 
We copy the following just remarks, from a report made 
in 1835, by Lieutenant G. Button, of the United States 
corps of Engineers. 

" The Ohio river derives from the Allegheny its prin- 
cipal and most lasting supply ; during the summer months 
its volume is maintained, and very frequently increased, 
by occasional rains during that period, which enlarge 
materially the supplies drawn from the copious basin of 
this tributary, and it is only during a season of unusual 
drought, that it arrives at its minimum stage ; this, from 
a comparison of the best authorities, is assumed at 15 
inches. The least depth obtained during the examina- 
tion this season was 2 min. 2 sec, although the water, 
for the brief space of a few days only, has been as low 
as two feet over some of the shoals between Pittsburgh 
and Wheeling. The Ohio through its whole course has 
in general a very equable and gentle current. During 
high stages this is the most uniform, although its rate is 
then considerably increased ; at low stages tJie river be- 
comes resolved into a succession of ripples, with exten- 
sive slack water basins between them varying in depth 
from tAvo to three, and even five fathoms. The valley 
of tlie river is bounded on each side by richly timbered 
hills of great uniformity in their average height, enclosing 



THE RIVER OHIO. S9 

fertile bottoms which alternate in very regular succession 
on either side of the river ; ledges of rock occasionally 
appear along its banks ; these are generally of stratified 
and easily wrought sandstone. 

" There are few points on the river deserving the name 
of gorges ; the nearest approach to an opening of that 
character is found at Brown's island, 65 miles below Pitts- 
burgh. The heights here approach within tlie distance 
of 600 yards, and ledges of rocks exhibit themselves on 
each side of the river. There are several other formida- 
ble passes on the river, which however, in comparison 
wdth the shoals are few in number ; of the character 
alluded to are Captina and Buffington's islands, and the 
rapids called Le Tart's falls ; these are more dangerous 
for the passage of keel and flat boats than for that of 
steamers, which under the management of careful pilots, 
are exposed to little risk, when there is found sufficient 
depth of water at those points for floatage. The obstruc- 
tions in the river generally arise from want of sufficient 
depth of water, over many of the shoals at low stages. 
There are points however, where owing to the existence 
of projecting rocks, the navgiation is not safe for as much 
depth as is contained in the cliannel. The bars in the 
river may be classed, 1st, into those formed of hard and 
apparently of permanent gravel ; 2nd, shifting or loose 
gravel ; and 3rd, shifting sandbars. The flrst abound in 
the upper section of the river. These are generally ex- 
posed to a strong current, and formed of rounded oblong 
pebbles and stones, varying from one to fifty pounds and 
upv/ards ; they become by the continued action of the 
water, cleared of all smaller particles, firmly imbedded, 
and by their conformation resist the action of the current, 
the bottom assuming the consistency of, or similarity 
with, a pavement of smooth stones. 

"The bars of the second class are composed of fine 
gravel, moveable by strong currents, and occur, as well 



40 THE RIVER OHIO. 

as the sandbars at the lower junction of the chutes formed 
by the islands ; these change their position, when upon 
the fall of the waters, the main channel of the river pre- 
dominates in a new direction, and the fall and current 
increase by the subsidence of the lower basins. In the 
upper section of the river, the sandbars are always found 
under the lee of the islands, or at the meeting of the chan- 
nels. In the lower are extensive sandbars unaccompanied 
by islands ; the most important of these are met with be- 
tween Guyandot and Cincinnati. In addition to the 
shoals, large quantities of logs and snags are distributed 
in different parts of the river. On some of the shoals, 
they lie imbedded in the gravel, forming dangerous ob- 
structions to the low water navigation. Large trees with 
their roots, branches, and foliage, in full verdure, under- 
mined and thrown into the stream by the gradual abrasion 
of the alluvial banks at high water, are of frequent occur- 
rence. Many logs are disgorged from the smaller tribu- 
taries and creeks which empty into the Ohio. These 
creeks, when swelled by rains into rapid torrents, dis- 
charge large quantities of pebbles, and large angular stones, 
into the bed of the river ; in many cases forming extensive 
bars at their junction. 

*' In descending the river, from its head, a considerable 
improvement is experienced in the depth of water after 
reaching the foot of Wheeling island ; from th^s point 
the river, at stages admitting the passage of light draught 
steamers, is practicable for about six inches greater draught 
than the section above it. This circumstance is not due 
to the reception of any important tributary to its waters, 
but solely to the decrease in the rapidity of its descent ; 
this difference in the depth is less perceptible at an ex- 
treme low stage. From a comparison of the best data 
obtainable, the descent from Pittsburgh to Wheeling has 
been estimated approximatively, at one foot to the mile ; 
from Wheeling to Guyandot, eight inches ; and thence 



THE RIVER OHIO. 41 

to Louisville, fonv inches per mile. Below Guyandot, 
the character of the river becomes materially changed ; 
it here enlarges its bed, and flows onward with a dimin- 
ished current ; the level reaches are longer, and the de- 
scent at the ripples less. This enlargement of its bed, 
however, renders the depth over some of the shoals in 
this part at the river, very slight at low water, fonning 
several very shoal sand and gravel bars. From Cincin- 
nati to Louisville, the navigation becomes comparatively 
much improved. There are two or three bars on this 
section, and some dangerous snags below the mouth of 
Kentucky river, which require attention. It would be 
desirable to give a specific description and sketch of each 
shoal, were it not that their great number and similarity 
would render such description a monotonous repetition 
of nearly the same circumstances. 

" An important feature in the Ohio river is observable 
in the fact, that at all the islands are also located the worst 
shoals and rapids, or falls. These islands are considered 
rather the effect, than the cause of this fall, and formed, 
like the alluvial bottoms, by the gradual deposite from the 
river, which, at those points being spread out at low wa- 
ter, leaves some portions of the projecting parts of its bed 
uncovered. In respect to Captina and Buffington's 
islands, the low water channel at each deflects from the 
main direction of the bed, and passes off laterally, through 
a narrow and circuitous route, around the island. The 
main or direct channel, in both the cases alluded to, is 
rendered dangerous by rocks, and too shoal at low water 
for navigation. 

" Tile rocks in the Ohio chute, at Captina island, appear, 
from recent examinations, to be of a detached character, 
and susceptible of removal. The direct channel at Buf- 
fington's island, is bounded by a ledge of stratified sand 
stone rock, projecting into the river, which is supposed 
to continue entirely across the channel, beneath the gravel 

d2 



42 THE RIVER OHIO. 

bottom ; it is, however, situated nearly at the foot of the 
rapids. Some loose rocks are scattered in this channel. 
" With regard to the islands, and particularly those at 
which the low water channel deviates from the direct 
continuation of the main bed of the river, shifting bars are 
always found under the lee of the islands. This rule 
appears, from the result of my examination, to be of 
general application in regard to all similar points on the 
river. The water, at high stages, passes with tlie greatest 
volume and current through the most direct and spacious 
channel, which then predominating, throws into the foot 
or junction of the smaller passage powerful eddies, de- 
positing therein a bar, which again changes and deepens 
upon the fall of the waters. With regard to the rapids, 
called Letart's falls, the river here passes over a rocky 
bottom, with a descent and current far greater than is 
found at any other point above the falls ; the bottom is 
free from dangerous projections, and the concentration of 
the water at this place, by the more prominent parts of 
the rocky bed on each side, renders the depth over these 
rapids much greater than upon most of the shoals in the 
river. The current, which is here five and three quarters 
miles per hour, at a moderate stage, can, in general, be 
stemmed by steamboats of sufficient power ; but for keel 
boats, and the lighter class of steamers, permanent warp- 
ing fixtures are here necessary. The points most requir- 
ing immediate attention, in the shoaler section of the river, 
lying between Pittsburgh and the junction of the Muskin- 
gum, at Marietta, are, Logtown bar. Black's and Brown's 
islands, Beech Bottom bar, McMahon's creek below 
Wheeling, which requires the removal of many dangerous 
rocks and logs, Captina island. Petticoat ripple in the 
long reach. Carpenter's bar, and Marietta island ; at this 
latter point, the junction of the Ohio channel, opposite 
to the town of Marietta, is crossed by a large bar of loose 
shiftiDg sand, which makes from the foot of the island 



THE RIVER OHIO. 43 

across to the mouth of the Muskingum. At the head of tJie 
islaml, three miles above, the Virginia channel is crossed 
by a shoal gravel bar. 

" By the execution of that part of the plan of improve- 
ment now in progress, viz : the removal or clearing the 
channel of all sunken logs, stumps, snags, and projecting 
rocks, the navigation at low stages, and particularly for 
light draught st:amers and keel boats, will be rendered 
much safer, and even practicable for a deeper draught, 
than it is under present circumstances considered prudent 
to employ. There are some sand and light gravel bars, 
which are among the very shoalest on the river, but 
which, notwithstanding, are not ranked among the most 
serious obstructions, from the comparative safety witli 
which their passage may be attempted. A system of im- 
provement, having for its object to secure a specific depth 
of water at all seasons, sufficient to meet the demands of 
the trade upon those streams which are rendered impassa- 
ble during the dry seasons, from the diminution of the 
supplies derived from their tributaries, can be effected 
with certainty only by a series of dams and locks. 

"As this mode is not, however, contemplated with regard 
to the Ohio, the concentration of the river into one chan- 
nel, and the appropriation of all the water passing, to that 
object, during low stages, will, it is believed, accomplish 
all the further improvement contemplated." 

The project of removing the snags and sunken timber 
from the beds of the Ohio and Mississippi, originated 
with Captain Henry M. Shreve, one of the earliest and 
most experienced navigators of steam boats on the western 
rivers. He contrived a steam boat, for this purpose, 
which operates with such speed and energy, that scores 
of the largest trees are raised in a day, with the assistance 
of a few hands. The business of removing snags is per- 
formed only when the water is low ; at other times the 
crews of the boats are employed in cutting away the 



44 THE RIVER OHIO. 

overhanging timber from the falling in hanks, — that is 
from such banks as are gradually becoming undermined 
by the action of the current, and which supply the great- 
est amount of these dangerous obstacles to navigation. 
The boat is of tlie most simple construction, yet has such 
power, that the largest tree, however firmly fixed, is re- 
moved in a few minutes. A number of these injjenious 
vessels have been employed for several years, under tlie 
direction of Captain Shreve, in the Ohio and Mississippi, 
and thousands of snags have been removed by them. In 
the year ending in September 1833, 1980 were taken up 
in the latter river, and supposing many to have been left, 
the chances of danger to ascending vessels, were dimin- 
ished by at least that number. Within the same year, 
the crews of those boats w^ere employed, when the water 
rose too high to admit of working on the bed of the river, 
in cutting away the trees which overhung the stream, or 
stood on banks liable to be undermined, and actually 
felled 10,000 trees, which must soon have been precipi- 
tated into the mighty current. The same operation has 
now been continued for several years, at an annual ex- 
penditure of less money, than was previously lost by the 
yearly destruction of property, from this single cause — 
to say nothing of the loss of life. It is true that the ob- 
structions are continually renewed ; but the num1;)er of 
trees which are thrown into the stream, must be annually 
decreased, by the settlement of the country, and the con- 
sumption of timber for fuel, by steam boats. Firewood 
hai already become a valuable article ; and but few years 
will elapse before every tree, on the margin of a navigable 
river, will have acquired a value sufficient to induce 
measures for converting into fuel, the whole of that im- 
mense mass, which would otherwise have been carried 
away by the spring floods. 

The sandbars ©f the Ohio, present a more permanent 
and serious obstruction to navigation. These are numer- 



THE RIVER OlilO. 45 

ous — many of them extending entirely across tlie bed of 
the river, and affording less than two feet of water in any 
part. To cut a channel through a bank of sand, would 
not be impracticable ; but the excavation thus effected 
would be filled by the deposites of the next flood. It is 
difficult to project a remedy for this evil, which shall be 
effectual and permanent. About ten years ago. Colonel 
TiOng of the topographical engineers, was instructed by 
the government to make an experiment, and adopted the 
plan of throwing out wing-dams from each side of the 
river, so as to confine the current witlun narrow bounds, 
and to give it sufficient volume to wash a channel for 
itself He spent a summer in constructing such a work 
at Henderson bar, 200 miles below Louisville. The 
dams were constructed of piles driven into the sand and 
rising but a few inches above its surface. Captain Shreve 
has since pursued a similar plan in the construction of 
dams at French Island, Three Mile Island, Scuffletown 
bar, and the Three Sisters, vrhich are amcng the shoalest 
and most difficult bars in the Ohio. The -most extensive 
of these works, and that which, if successful, wiJ*! mos' 
satisfactorily attest the correctness of the principle whicl 
applies to them all, is the one at Cumberland Island, neai 
the mouth of Cumberland river. It is proposed to change 
the channel of the river, so as to force its waters to pass 
between the island and the Kentucky shore, by means 
of which a channel will be washed through the bar be- 
low, the mouth of the Cumberland relieved of a formida- 
ble obstruction, and the landing at the town of Smithland 
greatly improved. The length of the dam is about half 
a mile, its width at the base thirty feet, and its height six- 
teen feet. It is composed of large masses of limestone 
rock, quarried from the shores above. It was a costly 
work, and not well designed or constructed. A portion 
of it has been washed away and the dam in its present 
condition is an obstruction. Whether the work should 
be re-constructed, or removed, is a question we are not 
prepared to solve. We think it probable, however, that 
the Government will not hereafter entrust such works tc 
any but scientific engineers. 



46 THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 

Some diversity of opinion has been entertained, as to 
the advantages to be derived from these operations, in 
reference both to sandbars and snags ; but the doubts are 
not greater, nor better founded, than those which have 
invariably assailed every novel and bold undertaking. It 
is obvious too, that many of them proceed from interested 
persons ; the pilots decry every improvement in the 
navigation of the rivers, which by making it more safe 
and easy, has a tendency to render their own calling less 
important, and their services less valuable, while the 
owners and officers of insufficient and badly managed 
boats, are always ready to attribute those disasters, by 
which life and property have been wantonly endangered 
to any other cause than their own cupidity or criminal 
mismanagement. 

The main objection to any of these measures, is that 
they have not been attempted on a scale of magnitude 
becoming their importance, and urged with all the energy 
which could be given by the resources of a great nation. 
The western plain is the centre of our empire, the citadel 
of its strength, the magazine of its resources, the heart, 
whose healthful operation must throw out nourishment 
and vigor to the whole continent, — and here should the 
nation lay deep and broad the foundations of its future 
greatness. 



CHAPTER III. 

The River Mississippi. 

From the Ohio, we proceed naturally to that part of the 
Mississippi river, comprised within the region to which 
we confine our remarks. 

In descending from St. Louis, the traveler is at once 
struck with the magnitude and boisterous character of the 
stream which has been so appropriately called, the Father 



THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 47 

of waters. The current is powerful and impetuous. The 
water, loaded at all seasons with particles of white clay, 
carries upon its discolored surface, the evidence of the 
violence which it is continually committing upon its 
shores. The torrent itself, has always an angry appear- 
ance — boiling up or whirling round in eddies, and foam- 
ing, and lashing the shore, as it rushes along. On the 
Missouri side, a large portion of the country is high and 
broken, and the river often sweeps along the rocky bases 
of abrupt hills — behind which are the regions of lead and 
iron. Between these elevations are large tracts of alluvial 
bottom lands, which predominate on the Illinois side, 
whose shore presents an almost unbroken line of forest 
trees, extending their luxuriant foliage to the water's edge. 
The low, ragged, broken banks, are subject to continual 
change — accumulating at one point, while at another they 
are undermined, precipitating masses of earth and im- 
mense trees, into the headlong torrent, to be whirled in 
its eddies, or planted in its navigable channels. 

Almost midway between St. Louis, and the mouth of 
the Ohio, masses of limestone rock are seen on either 
side, which, though now unconnected, have the appear- 
ance of having once formed a continuous ridge, crossing 
the general course of the river in an oblique direction. 
It has been suggested that a cataract, as mighty as that 
of Niagara, may once have existed at this spot. If such 
was ever the fact, the barrier has now been worn down 
to the general level of the channel of the river. But 
there is no reason to believe that such obstruction ever 
existed at this place, as the surface of the plain, on the 
Illinois side of the river, is such as to give a decisive 
negative to the supposition ; for the river, if obstructed 
here, would have flowed over the low ground on that 
side, instead of being dammed up at this point. The 
stream thus confined, is narrower here than above or be- 
low, and in crossing the rocks, its course suddenly 



48 THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 

changes to a direction nearly at right angles with that of 
the ridge. 

Approaching from above, we first discover the ridge 
throwing out a bold promontory into the stream on the 
Illinois shore, on the extreme point of which, is a large 
ronndcd mass of rock, 50 or 60 feet in height, shaped 
like an oven, and thence termed the Devil's Bake-oven. 
A low neck of land connects this with a range of perpen- 
dicular rocks, which frown in rugged precipices over the 
stream, and whose summits are beautifully crowned with 
vegetation. As the current sweeps abruptly round this 
cape, another promontory is seen jutting out from the 
opposite shore. Against this the whole force of the cur- 
rent beats with fearful velocity, and by its attrition, has 
worn it away until a large fragment has been separated, 
and left standing in solitary grandeur in the midst of the 
waves. This is the Grand Tower. Its height may be 
50 feet, and its diameter about the same. Its contour is 
remarkably exact and symmetrical, forming a column as 
nearly circular as if its proportions had been marked out 
Dy the hand of art. The sides are nearly perpendicular, 
out the ditVerent strata distinctly marked out. The Avhole 
has the appearance of a regular column, whose height is 
equal to its diameter. The top is flat, and supports a 
stratum of soil, which gives birth to a short, but rich 
growth, of trees and shrubs. 

In our early history, this was a noted spot. The river 
boats, which before the application of steam, were pro- 
pelled up the stream Avith difficulty, by human labor, 
were unable to ascend this rapid pass with oars or poles. 
Not only was the current too strong: for this operation, 
but the danger of being dashed against the rocks, was 
imminent. The only way to surmount these obstacles 
was, to drag the boat round the cape on the Illinois side, 
by means of ropes. To eflect this object, it was necessary 
for a portion of the crew to land, and an opportunity was 



THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 49 

offered to tlie Indians to attack them, when the prospects 
of resistance or of flight, were equally hopeless. Here 
then they formed their ambuscades, and manv a crew 
was slain at this spot, to gratify the savage lust for plun- 
der and revenge, while many boats were wrecked by the 
violence of the waves. 

'I'hese dangers exist now only in tradition. The Indi- 
ans have retired, and our own industrious citizens inhabit 
these shores ; while the introduction of steamboats has 
obviated the dangers of navigation, and rendered this spot 
as safe as any other. "When we behold the steam vessel 
slowly and majestically overcoming the mighty current, 
riding along in perfect safety, and then turn our eyes to 
the surges which are beating against the rocks and send- 
ing up their sheets of white foam into the air, we cannot 
but acknowledge the deep debt of gratitude, which our 
country owes to the memory of Fulton. And when we 
behold this grand and durable tower, so graceful and so 
appropriate in its form, so appositely placed in the midst 
of scenes, calculated to awaken respect for the genius, 
and gratitude for the services, of Fulton, we are induced 
to hope that a mojuiment, to the fame of this ilhistrious 
citizen will be erected upon this natural pedestal. 

Tlie deviVs tea table, and other appurtenances of the 
do;ninion of his Satanic majesty, are found in this neigh- 
borhood. The cornice rocks, are great curiosities. The 
perpendicular sides of the limestone precipices, have been 
worn by the water into regular shapes, and in some 
places, a continuous formation resembling a handsome 
cornice work, mry be seen, overhanging the cliffs, whose 
sides represent columns, and other architectural devices. 

The upper Mississippi is a much more beautiful river 
than it is generally believed to be. In richness, beauty, 
and variety of landscape, it far surpasses the Ohio ; and 
we cannot conceive why the French, who knew both, 
should have called the latter la belle in preference to 

E 



50 THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 

the former, unless, indeed, they considered that it would 
have been a solecism in language to have made a belle out 
of the Father of streams. For the tirst thirty miles above 
St. Louis, the country, although extremely rich and valu- 
able, is not interesting in its appearance. Within that 
distance, the Missouri river comes in on the one hand, 
and the Illinois on the other ; and after passing the latter, 
the shores become attractive. 

'I'he whole character of the river is clianged, after pass- 
ing the mouth of the Missouri. Above that, the Miss- 
issippi is a clear stream, with a strong, but smooth 
current. Instead of the low alluvial banks, which are 
continually accumulating at one spot, and falling in at 
another, as is the case upon the lower Mississippi, here 
are bold and beautiful shores, such as no other river that 
I have ever seen, can boast. On the Illinois side, we 
Jiow behold a range of tall bluffs, rising perpendicvilarly 
from the water's edge, to the height of from one to two 
Hundred feet, and faced with a solid bed of limestone. 

In looking at these bluffs, the imagination readily sug- 
gests the idea, that the river lias once flowed upon a level 
with their summits, and has cut its present channel, by 
ihe action of its current. Tliis is doubtless in part true, 
m reference to this, as to all other rivers. But the ap- 
pearances which cause this conjecture may be accounted 
for much more easily. Tha horizontal lines and projec- 
tions, resembling long rows of cornice, which are noticed 
by the voyager far above his head, have doubtless been 
produced by the trickling of the rain water down tlie 
sides of the precipice. The strata being^ horizontal, and 
of different degrees of hardness, the particles have been 
removed most rapidly from the softer parts, and with a 
regularity corresponding with the formation of the rock. 
The escarpments or steep sides of the rock, exhibit no 
angular shapes, but are smoothed and rounded as if by 
the long continued action of a powerful current of water. 



THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 5 

Numerous holes appear on the face of the solid rock, 
sometimes shallow and irregular, but often deep and 
cylindrical ; they are precisely such as geologists call 
pot-holes, and are far above the present high water mark. 
Every projection is rounded, and every cavity is globular, 
and so regular has been this operation, as to have pro- 
duced in some instances, a series of columnar formations, 
whicli display much of tlie symmetry of art, and ex- 
tending from the base to the summit of the rock, seem 
like immense buttresses intended to strengthen and support 
these massive walls. The peaks seem to have been long 
since decomposed, and have mouldered down into grace- 
fully rounded hills, covered with vegetation. These 
summits are on a level with the plane of the country. 

After passing a few miles further, these vertical declivi- 
ties are no longer presented to the eye. We now see the 
crystal stream beating against a bank of gravel, from 
which the shores rise with a gradual slope. In a few 
instances the hills rise boldly from the water's edge, or 
push out their steep promontories, so as to change the di- 
rection of the river ; but more generally we see on either 
bank a series of graceful slopes, swelling and sinking as 
far as the eye can reach. The prairie, for the most part, 
extends to the water, and no pen can describe the singu- 
lar and captivating effect of such scenery. Imagine a 
stream of a mile in width, whose waters are as transpa- 
rent as those of the mountain spring, flowing over beds 
of rock or gravel. Fancy the prairie commencing at the 
water's edge — a natural meadow covered with grass and 
flowers, rising with a gentle slope, for miles, so that in 
the vast panorama, thousands of acres are exposed to the 
eye. The prospect is bounded by a range of low hills, 
which sometimes approach the river, and again recede, 
and whose summits, which are seen gently waving along 
the horizon, form the level of the adjacent country. The 
prairies are not flat, but composed of a succes'^ion of 



52 THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 

swells, and the idea impressed upon the mmd by the 
whole conformation ol" the surface is, that the level plane 
of the country once terminated on the brink of the river, 
that the channel of tlie latter has been for ages increasing 
in deptli, and that the vales which we now see receding 
from it, were at first mere ravines, washed by the torrents 
of rain water, which have been gradually widened and 
rounded off by beating rains, into their present harmony 
of outline. The timber is scattered in groves and strips, 
the whole country being one vast illimitable prairie, orna- 
mented by small collections of trees. Sometimes the 
woodland extends along the river for several miles con- 
tinuously — sometimes it is seen stretching in a wide belt 
far off into the country, and marking the course of some 
tributary stream, and sometimes in vast groves, of several 
miles in extent, standing alone like islands, in this wilder- 
ness of grass and flo\vers. But more often we see the 
single tree without a companion near, or the little clump 
composed of a fov/ dozen oaks or elms ; and not unfre- 
quently, hundreds of aci*es embellished Vv^ith a kind of 
open woodland, and exltibiting the appearance of a splen- 
did park, decorated with skill and care by the hand of 
taste. Here we behold the beautiful lawn enriched with 
flowers, and studded with trees, which are so dispersed 
about as not to intercept the prospect — standing singly, 
so as not to sliade the ground, and occasionally collected 
in clusters, wliile now and then tlie sliade deepens into 
the gloom of the forest, or opens into long vistas and 
spacious plains, destitute of tree or shrub. 

We doubt whether there can be found, on the globe, a 
tract of country to compare with this. Commencing a 
little north of St. Louis, and extending tvfo hundred miles 
from east to west, and the same distance north, is to be 
found the most extensive tract of rich land in the world. 
Within these bounds, the country is nearly all as captivat- 
ing to the eye as that which we have described. Scarcely 



THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 53 

any of the land is subject to inundation. On the contrary, 
although incalculably rich, and sutRciently level for cul- 
tivation, it is a high, rolling, champaign country, and the 
shores of the streams are mostly bold. Healtliy it must be. 
At the foot of the upper rapids is one of die most pic- 
turesque scenes that we recollect to have beheld. On 
the western side, a series of slopes are seen rising one 
above anotlier for a considerable distance, until the back 
ground is terminated, by a chain of beautifidly rounded 
hills, over the whole of which trees are thinly scattered. 
On the other side of the river, is a broad flat plain of rich 
alluvion, several miles in length, and more tlian a mile in 
breadth, and terminated by a range of wooded liills. On 
this prairie is a small village of the Sauk and Fox Indians, 
composed, of rude lodges, scattered carelessly about. 
Their chief village was a few miles in the interior ; and 
it was for the possession of this beautiful country, that the 
followers of Black Hawk contended, in the recent war 
which resulted in such disastrous consequences to that 
ill fated tribe. In the front of the landscape, and present- 
ing its most prominent feature, is Rock Island ; the 
western shore of which, is washed by the main current 
of the Mississippi, while the eastern side is separated 
from tlie main land by a narroAv channel, which is forda- 
ble in low water. The southern point of the island is 
elevated about 40 feet above the ordinary level of the 
river, and is supported by a perpendicular parapet of rock. 
Here stands Fort Armstrong, a strong and very neat 
work, garrisoned by two companies of United States' 
troops ; and here Avill be one of the most desirable sites 
for a town, upon the upper Mississippi. Rock river, 
wdiich enters into the Mississippi a few miles below the 
island, is a rapid stream, which may be easily rendered 
navigable ; and which affords abundant water power for 
the propulsion of any kind of machinery. The whole of 
this region is fruitful, healthy, and agreeable to the eye. 

E 3 



64 SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY. 

Here the wild honeysuckle flourishes luxuriantly ; thous- 
ands of acres are covered with the wild gooseberry, 
plum, grape, mulberry, and other indigenous fruits, and 
the soil teems with the richest beauties and bounties of 
Providence. 

Above this point the scenery becomes occasionally more 
hilly and diversified, but the same general character marks 
its features as far up as the falls of St. Anthony, and we 
shall only refer the reader to the volumes detailing the 
two expeditions of Colonel Long and his scientific com- 
panions, whose remarks, so far as we have trod over the 
same ground, we have found singularly accurate, and can 
recommend safely, to those who desire to make more 
minute researches, than those for which our own pages 
will furnish the materials. 



CHAPTER IV. 

General Surface of the Country. 

TJie traveler who visits our Valley for the first time, 
advancing from the east, to the Oliio river, and thence 
proceeding westward, is struck with the magnificence of 
the vegetation which clothes the whole surface. The 
vast and gloomy grandeur of the forest, tlie gigantic size 
and venerable antiquity of the trees, the rankness of the 
weeds, the luxuriance and variety of the underbrush, the 
long vines that climb to the tops of the tallest branches, 
the parasites that hang in clusters fro in the boughs, the 
brilliancy of the foliage, and the exuberance of the fruit, 
all show a land teeming with vegetable life. The forest 
is seen in its majesty; the pomp and pride of the wilder- 
ness is here. Here is nature unspoiled, and silence un- 
disturbed. A few years ago, this impression was more 
striking than at present; for now, farms, villages, and 



SCENERY. 55 

even a few large towns are scattered over tJiis region, 
diversifying its landscapes, and breaking in upon the 
characteristic wildness of its scenery. Still there are 
wide tracts remaining in a state of nature, and displaying 
all the savage luxuriance which first attracted the pioneer; 
and upon a general survey, its features present at this day, 
to one accustomed only to thickly populated countries, 
the same freshness of beauty, and the same immensity, 
though rudeness of outline, which we have always been 
accustomed to associate with the idea of a western land- 
scape. 

I know of nothing more splendid than a forest of the 
west, standing in its original integrity, adorned with the 
exuberant beauties of a powerful vegetation, and crowned 
with the honors of a venerable age. There is a grandeur 
in the immense size of the great trees — a richness of 
coloring in the foliage, superior to any thing that is 
known in corresponding latitudes — a wildness and an un- 
broken stillness that attests the absence of man — above all, 
there is a vastness, a boundless extent, an uninterrupted 
continuity of shade, which prevents the attention from 
being distracted, and allows the mind to fill itself, and the 
imagination to realize the actual presence, and true char- 
acter, of that which had burst upon it like a vivid dream. 

This effect is the more uniform since the rivers hav^ 
become the great avenues of commerce, and the explora 
tions of the majority of those who travel, are confined to 
their wooded shores. Here the forest is most abundant, 
and the growth of the tree the most gigantic ; and as the 
steamboat paddles her way rapidly through the water, 
the spectator beholds, for mile after mile, a continuous 
border of unbroken woodland, alternating with the village, 
or the solitary farm, which is occasionally presented to 
his view. In no instance does the prairie,- — the natural 
meadow, clothed with grass — appear upon the margin of 
the Ohio, or of any of its tributaries ; but invariably the 



56 SCENERY. 

rich alluvion lands that skirt those streams, and the low 
rounded hills, are shaded by a prolific growth of heavy- 
timber. 

But when the traveler forsakes the valley of the Ohio, 
and advancing westward, ascends to the level of that 
great plain, which constitutes the general surface of this 
extensive region, he finds himself in an open champaign 
country— in a wilderness of broad plains, covered with a 
rich sward of grass, and destitute of trees. Tlie transition 
is as sudden, as it is complete. Behind him are the most 
gigantic productions of the forest — before him are the 
lowly, the verdant, the delicate, inhabitants of the lawn ; 
behind him are gloom and chill, before him are sunlight 
and graceful beauty. He has passed the rocky cliff, and 
the savage mountain pass, where the den of the rattle- 
snake is concealed, — the marshes that send up foetid 
steams of desolating miasma, — and the canebrake where 
the bear and the panther lurk ; and has reached tlie pas- 
ture wliere the deer is feeding, and the prairie-flower 
displays its diversified hues. He has seen the wilder- 
ness in all its savage pomp, and gloomy grandeur, arrayed 
in tlie terrors of barbarian state ; but now beholds it in its 
festal garb, reposing in peace, and surrounded by light, 
gayety, and beauty. 

Tliis distinction is not imaginary; no observing man 
can pass from one part of this region to another, without 
remarkino; the natural antithesis to which we allude ; and 
that mind would be defective in its perceptions of the 
sublime and beautiful, which did not feel, as well as see, 
the eff'ects of this singular contrast. There is in the ap- 
pearance of one of our primitive forests, a gloomy wild- 
ness, that throws a cast of solemnity over the feelings , 
a something in the wide spread solitude which suggests 
to the traveler that he is far from the habitations of man 
— alone, in the companionship of his own thoughts, and 
the presence of his God. But the prairie landscape 



KIVER SCENERY. 57 

awakens a ciiflerent train of tliought. Here light pre- 
dominates instead of shade, and a variety of hue instead 
of a wearisome exuberance and monotony of verflure ; 
while the extent of the open scene which is spread before 
the vision, allows the eye to roam abroad, over an endless 
diversity of agreeable objects. 

The same remarkable contrast is equally striking in the 
contour of the surface — in tlie difference between the 
broken, and the level districts. The former lie chiefly 
along the Allegheny mountains, and are composed of the 
lateral ridges which extend from the principal cliain into 
the valley ; the latter is the common formation of a grea 
portion of this extensive country. If the traveler looks 
down from the western pinnacles of the Allegheny, he 
beholds a region beautifully diversified M^ith hill and dale, 
and intersected by rapid streams, tumbling over ledges 
of rock, or beds of gravel. In western Pennsylvania, 
Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, he finds every varie- 
ty of scenic beauty — the hill, the valley, and the plain, 
the rocky cliff, the secluded dell, the clear fountain, and 
the rivulet pitching headlong from vale to vale. 

The rivers have each their characteristic scenery. The 
Monongahela winding through a mountainous country, 
overhung with precipices, and shaded by heavy forests, 
with a current sufficiently gentle to be easily navigable 
by steam boats, has its peculiar features, which are in- 
stantly lost when the traveler has passed on to the bosom 
of the Ohio. The Allegheny differs from both ; more 
turbulent than either, it has not the majesty of the one, 
nor the romantic beauty of the other. The winding course, 
and rugged scenery of the Ohio between Pittsburgh and 
Wheeling, impress the beholder as strikingly wild and 
picturesque ; below the latter place the features of the 
landscape become softened, the hills recede farther from 
the river, are less lofty, and more rounded ; and again, 
after passing Louisville, these elevations are seen less 



58 RIVER SCENERY. 

frequeiUly, and gradually melt away, until the river be- 
comes margined by low shores, and a continuous line of 
unbroken forest. But if we leave the gentle current of the 
Ohio, and ascend the Kentucky or the Cumberland, we 
again linil rapid streams, overhung with precipices, and 
a country abounding in the diversities of bold and roman- 
tic landscape. Here may be seen the rapid current 
foaming and eddying over beds of rock, and the tall peak 
towering above in solitary grandeur. Here the curious 
tourist may penetrate the gloom of the cavern, may clam, 
ber over precipices, or relVesh himself from the crystal 
fountain bursting from the bosom of the rock. But he 
will find every hill clad with timber, every valley teeming 
with vegetation — even the crevices of the limestone para- 
pets giving sustenance to trees and bushes. Green River, 
though lying between these is essentially different from 
both : though often hemmed in by hills, its current ia 
gentle, and its navigable facilities extended far into the 
country through which it flows. 

The Kenhawa river deserves a separate mention. From 
its junction with the Ohio at Point Pleasant, the field of 
a battle in which the characteristic valor of Virginia was 
most conspicuously displayed, the traveler ascends a val- 
jey of little width, through which meanders a small and 
gentle river. A narrow belt of rich bottom land, divided 
into highly productive farms, is seen on one or the other 
side of the river, and sometimes on both — beyond which 
is a range of high, precipitous, and rocky hills. At a 
distance of about sixty miles from the mouth, by the 
meanders of the river, commences the richest salt region 
in the United States. It extends about ten miles along 
the river ; and within that distance there are eighty oi 
ninety separate establishments for the manufacture of salt, 
thickly scattered along the shore on either side of the 
stream. A large portion of the salt used in the west, has 
been furnished from these furnaces, which have proved 



MOUNTAIN SCENERY. 59 

extremely lucrative to the proprietors. Although they 
have been in operation for many years, the supply of 
brine remains undiminished, and the neighboring hills 
furnish an inexhaustible supply of bituminous coal, lying 
in thick horizontal strata, in sight of the furnaces, and in 
positions elevated a few feet above them. 

Pursuing the river a few miles further, we arrive at a 
cataract formed by a ledge of rock which crosses its chan- 
nel, and which forms a curious and beautiful scene. Im- 
mediately beyond this point, the landscape becomes grand 
and romantic, combining the wildest and most splendid 
features of scenic attraction. At the spot where the Gau- 
ley and New rivers unite, and merge their names, in that 
of the Kenhawa, we reach the foot of the mountains, 
down whose precipitous gorges these streams are seen 
rushing. The great road which pursues the valley of 
one of these tributaries, winding with its sinuosities, and 
for the most part hewed out of the sides of perpendicular 
parapets of rock, affords a series of the most extensive 
and sublime prospects. After toiling up an ascent of 
several miles, passing over deep ravines, and often turn- 
ing the angle of a projecting cliff, along whose edge the 
traveler passes with an involuntary shudder, as he gazes 
on the perilous depth below, we arrive at the celebrated 
and magnificent spot called the Hawk's Nest. This is 
the highest peak of this part of the chain of mountains. 
It is not seen from the road, which at this point has left 
the steep side of the chasm, and passes for a short dis- 
tance along a ridge shaded on either side by forest trees. 
The stage is stopped, in order that the natural curiosity 
of the traveler may be indulged in beholding a scene of 
uncommon grandeur. A small footpath leading at right 
angles is pointed out to him, pursuing w^hich for a few 
yards, he suddenly finds himself standing on the project- 
ing ledge of a precipice, from whose brink he may cast a 
stone into the New river, which foams over a bed of rock 



60 SURFACE OF THE COUNTRV. 

one thousand feet below him. The landscape is perfect 
— its extent, its ^-ander.r, its variety, its romantic char- 
acter, and the splendid beauty of its details, are incom- 
parably magnificent. The sublimity of the scene, is not 
less than that of the Niagara cataract ; its gigantic out- 
lines fill the beholder with wonder, while the dizzy height 
at which he stands, on a narrow ledge, projected over a 
gulph of such awful magnitude, causes a sensation of ter- 
ror to mingle with the thrilling sensations of astonishment 
and delight that fill his bosom. 

The toils and perils of a journey over the mountains 
are amply compensated by a view of this fine scene, to 
which nothing of the kind can be superior. It is on the 
road which leads from Guyandot on the Ohio, by the 
Virginia springs, to Fredericksburg in Virginia. The 
road itself is a clay turnpike, nearly impassable in the 
wet season, but in the summer superior to any other 
by which the Allegheny ridge is crossed, and which af- 
fords infinitely the most agreeable route for an excursion 
from east to west in hot weather. 

The scenery presented on the western shore of the 
Ohio, is altogether different. The mountain is seen no 
more; the hill, the rock, the precipice, and the limpid 
torrent occur but seldom ; and although in Ohio the 
change is not so marked, as in the more western states, 
th.e traveler as he wanders successively over Indiana, 
Illinois, Missouri, and the vast wilderness beyond, is as- 
tonished at the immensity of the great plain, the regularity 
of its surface, and the richness, the verdure, and the beauty, 
of its wide spread meadows. 

Whatever may be the purpose with which we contem- 
plate the region now under review, it is necessary to keep 
in mind this important diversity of surface and production. 
To the poet, it afibrds the most picturesque and striking 
contrasts of scenery; to the inquirer after truth, it pre- 
sents in an imposing manner, the extraordinary capabili- 



S'JRFACK OF THE COUNTRY. 61 

ties of a country, which embraces such varied resources 
for agriculture and trade, and possesses so happy an 
adaptation, to the different pursuits of life, and products 
of industry. To all it must suggest how defective and 
totally worthless are the accounts of those, who having 
visited one part of this country, assume to describe the 
whole ; whose personal observations have been confined 
to the margins of the great rivers, while they have no 
knowledge of the prairies, nor can imagine in their wild- 
est dreams, the extent, the fertility, the peculiar confor- 
mation, and singular agricultural advantages, of these 
interesting plains, and are equally unacquainted with the 
geology, the resources, and interior channels of inter- 
course, of this broad land. 

There are some other distinctions which are necessarily 
to be considered, and to which reference should be had, 
whenever general remarks are made, for they will suggest 
the occasions where it may be necessary to make excep- 
tions. In western Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the toils 
of the pioneer have in a great measure ceased, the log hut 
has disappeared, and commodious farm houses of framed 
wood, or stone, have been reared. Agriculture has as- 
sumed a permanent character, and is prosecuied with 
steadiness and method. In Pennsylvania, particularly, 
the immense treasures of iron and coal, and the great 
manufacturing ability of Pittsburgh, has given a peculiar 
character to the industry, and has caused the spirit of 
commerce and enterprise, to be widely diffused among 
the farmers. Great expenditures have been made upon 
roads and canals, and the traveler sees many symptoms 
of an active and prosperous traffic. 

Ohio has grown more rapidly, and the new is here 
seen singularly mixed with the old — neat villages, exten- 
sive farms, and valuable improvements, alternating witli 
rude hamlets, solitary log houses, or masses of unbroken 
forest. The appearances of commercial and asfricultural 

F 



62 SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY. 

activity, are of the most cheering character, the actual 
improvement which is going forward in every department 
of life and business, is great, — yet the exterior develope 
ment, as presented to the eye of the stranger, is new, 
rougli, and uninviting. The beauty of nature has been 
destroyed, and the embellishments of art have not been 
supplied. Wealth and labor have been employed widi 
great energy and success, in reduchig the wild land into 
cultivated fields, in bringing the resources of the country 
into operation, and in providing the comforts of life ; but 
few expenditures have been made for ornament or luxury. 
To him who passes rapidly through the land, and glances 
only at the rude exterior, every thing appears crude and 
unformed, but there is notwithstanding an admirable sys- 
tem in the industry, as well as in the social and moral 
condition of the people. The skeleton of a regularly 
organized civil society, with all its strong muscles and 
ligaments is vigorously developed, and those parts only 
are wanting, which are necessary to give grace and full- 
ness to the outline. 

Passing westwardly through Indiana, Illinois, and 
Missouri, tliere will be found still less appearance of im- 
provement. In some parts of Indiana, the people are 
treading rapidly in the footsteps of tliose of Oliio, sub- 
stantial ho\ises have been built, and farms have been 
Drought into a high state of culture. But generally speak- 
ing the settlers in these states continue to reside in their 
primitive dwellings ; the log house, and the rough worm- 
hnce, are the cliief objects of human construction that 
meet the eye. The fields are rudely tilled, yet yield 
abundant harvests. There is an abundance, even to pro- 
fusion, of all the necessaries of life, but none of the lux- 
uries, and few of what would be called comforts, by 
those who are unaccustomed to the habits of the country. 
There is however a vast deal of substantial comfort, and 
the people are independent, cheerful, and intelligent. 



SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY. 63 

The beauty that attracts the eye in this region, is that of 
nature, and is found in the wide tracts of wilderness that 
remain untouched by the axe or the plough. Such is the 
greater part of the country, over which the farms are 
thinly scattered, and where the cattle still roam at large 
through the woods and prairies, as in the days of the 
patriarchs. A large proportion of the people of these 
three states, partake more of the pastoral, than of the 
agricultural character. They belong to a race to whom 
wealth is not so desirable as to cause them to seek it by 
liard labor, and they aim at nothing beyond a competent 
support. Their numerous domestic animals, that feed in the 
natural pastures, and the game of the forest, supply them 
with food in rich abundance, and their fields are careless- 
ly tilled, because the produce is of secondary importance. 
But when we cross the Ohio, and pass through Ken- 
tucky, we find a different state of society, and a widely 
different aspect in the appearance of the country. In 
passing from Maysville to Lexington, tlie stage rolls over 
one of the finest Macadamised roads in the United States. 
The country is hilly, but moderately fertile, and w^ell 
improved, until we reach the vicinity of liicking river. 
The agriculture is good, the houses well constructed, and 
comfortable. The forming stage of society is past, and 
much attention is paid to the refinements and courtesies 
of domestic life. On approaching liicking riser a wild 
and sterile tract presents itself, extending for a few miles 
on either side of that stream. The hills are abrupt, 
broken, and rocky, the soil thin, and the vegetation 
stinted. The rocks are overgrown with moss and lichens, 
and instead of the tall timber of other localities, we find 
a straggling and dwarfish growth of low bushes. Nothing 
can be more dreary than this sombre landscape, or more 
strongly contrasted with the rich and cheerful districts 
that lie around in every direction. It is a mineral region, 
abounding in saline impregnations, and to this cause an 



64 SCENERY. 

acute writer attributes the appearances which we havo 
noticed. Dr. Yandell, of the Lexington Medical school, 
remarks : " At one time the hills, which, now bare, show 
as M^asted skeletons, must have had a covering of clay 
and vegetable mould, for the country in every direction, 
at the distance of a few miles, is rich, and clothed in lux- 
uriant vegetation. It is well known that the first adven- 
turers to the west, found it abounding in every species 
of wild game. Deer, elks, and buffaloes, were met with 
in numbers altogether incalculable. Tliese animals re- 
sorted in vast numbers to the springs, and the latter came 
from a distance, and lingered for weeks in the neighbor- 
hood. It is said that the roads which they made in 
journeying thither, are still visible at this distant day. 
And finally, the mastodon, and arctic elephant, we may 
infer from the osseous remains that have been exhumed, 
were among tlie ancient visitors at these v/atering places. 
The effect of such a concourse of animals sojourning for 
wrecks together in the neighborhood, and feeding upon 
the shrubs, herbaceous plants, and such limbs of trees as 
were in their reach, bruising and lacerating their roots in 
passing to and fro, must have been in time, the destruc- 
tion not only of the grass and more tender herbs, but of 
the forests themselves ; and the soil thus deprived of its 
necessary support, would be ultimately washed by rains 
into the streams and valleys. This cause, of course has 
long ceased to operate, and with its cessation, a new 
change has commenced. The soil is again in a process 
of renewal, and the sides and summits of the hills begin 
to assume an appearance of verdure and life." 

Having passed through this region of sterility, the road 
to Lexington winds through an open champaign country 
of the most delightful appearance. The heavy forest, 
which once threw its deep shade over the lurking Indian, 
has been cleared av/ay, and highly cultivated fields adorn 
the whole of the wide landscape. The surface is not 



SCENERY IN KENTUCKY. 65 

broken by hills, nor is it level, — but of that beautifully 
rolling or undulating character, which is, above all others, 
the most pleasing to the eye, and the best adapted to the 
purposes of husbandry. Its similarity, in this respect, 
to the gracefully waving prairies in the central and nor 
thern parts of Illinois is very striking. The soil is of the 
richest kind, and the improvements not only substantial, 
but elegant. It is seldom that the eye of the traveler is 
delighted with so pleasing a combination of rural beauty 
and tasteful embellishment. The dwellings are commo- 
dious and comfortable ; most of them are very superioi 
to those usually inhabited by farmers, while many are the 
elegant mansions of the opulent and refined. These are 
surrounded by gardens and pleasure grounds, adorned 
with trees and shrubs, tastefully disposed. There is 
a something substantial, as well as elegant, in the resi- 
dence of a farmer of tliis part of Kentucky ; a combina- 
tion of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is 
singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree 
of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry 
in its production. The fields are extensive and well cul- 
tivated. Not a spot remains in its pristine state of wilder- 
ness ; but everywhere the hand of art is seen to have 
exerted its energies with an unusual vigor and felicity of 
execution. Every foot of ground lias been adorned, or 
rendered productive. The woodland pastures which are* 
peculiar to this section of country are remarkably beauti- 
ful, giving to its extensive farms an unusual degree of 
elegance, and to the whole character of the scenery an 
originality, which attracts the attention of the most casual 
observer, while it fills a genuine admirer of nature with 
the most pleasurable emotions. This agreeable effect 
is produced by a simple procedure. The woodlands are 
all inclosed ; the underwood, and the useless trees are 
removed, while the valuable timber trees are left, standing 
sufficiently wide apart to admit the rays of the sun, and 

F 2 



66 SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY. 

the free circulation of the air, between them. The ground 
is then sown with grass, and extensive tracts, which 
would otherwise have been mere wilderness, are thus 
converted into spacious lawns, studded with noble trees. 
These are so numerous, and of such extent, as to form a 
prominent feature in the scenery, and it is hardly possible 
to imagine anything more beautiful, than the alternations 
of woodland and meadow, with hemp and cornfields, and 
orchards, which the eye here meets in every direction. 
The dwelling houses are usually laro-e edifices of brick or 
frame, surrounded by numerous offices, and embowered 
in shade trees, among which the locust, and the lombar- 
dy poplar, are most frequently seen. The fences and 
otlier improvements are excellent, and the grounds neatly 
kept. The whole appearance is that of a country pos- 
sessing w^ealth, industry, and refinement — the residence 
of a hospitable people, who cherish the social virtues, 
and who bestow much care in surrounding themselves 
with the comforts and luxuries of domestic life. 

This beautiful region comprises several counties, and 
includes a circuit of more than forty miles in diameter, 
of which Lexington is the centre ; but there are several 
other counties lying round it, but little inferior in point 
of fertility, and marked by similar features of industry, 
improvement, and manners. 

Tlie traveler cannot but pause to contrast the appear- 
ance of this country, v/ith that of the wilderness which 
existed here forty years ago. Within the memory of living 
witnesses, the soil which is now so finely embellished, 
and which supports a numerous and highly refined popu- 
lation, was covered with luxuriant forests and vast cane- 
brakes, which aflforded shelter to the roving Indian, and 
the prowling beast of prey. Here were the lodge of the 
Indian and the camp of the solitary hunter. Here the 
pioneer endured in his rude log cabin, all the precarious 
toils and sudden vicissitudes of the border life, laboriously 



SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY. 6T 

opening the rich soil to the action of the sun, felHng one 
by one tlie gigantic trees, and resting by niglit, like the 
weary soldier, with his rifle by his side. And here are 
still seen the ruins of those primitive fortresses, which 
protected the emigrants and their families, from the tom- 
ahawk, when the savage warriors came in suflicient force 
to drive the hunter from his camp, and the settler from 
his newly cleared fields. 

So rapid has been this change, and so complete the 
transformation, that it seems as if the pioneers who had 
expelled the Indian, and the beast of prey, had been in 
their turn supplanted by a more wealthy and refined race, 
who by the magic influence of gold, and the energy of 
a superior industry, had converted the face of the land 
from a desert to a paradise. But such was not the actual 
procedure. The wealthy farmers who now occupy the 
soil, the educated and accomplished individuals who com- 
pose the population, are, for the most part, the immedi- 
ate descendants of the hardy men by whose courage the 
country was subdued, and by whose enterprise its resour- 
ces were brought into operation. 

This beautiful region extends to the borders of the Ken- 
tucky river, to the south of which we find a hilly region, 
interspersed with fertile valleys, and crossed by several 
rocky, elevated, and precipitous ridges. Much of the 
land in this district is poor; the population is thinly scat- 
tered, and many of the settlers are rough and illiterate, 
though independent and hospitable. 

Thence proceeding to the south west we meet with the 
Barrens, an extensive tract of rolling land, some of M'liich 
is said to be rich, though a large portion of it is certainly 
not of that description. It received its name from having 
been, when first visited by the whites, wholly destitute 
of timber, and covered with bushes, and from the belief 
entertained by those who then explored it, that it was not 
sufficiently fertile to produce trees. That opinion has, 



68 SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY. 

however, been exploded by the fact, that since the settle- 
ment of the country timber has been rapidly produc- 
ed ; and many parts of it are now thickly set with flour- 
ishing young forests, where not a tree was to be seen 
forty years ago. In some places the timber has attained 
a size which renders it useful to the farmer for fuel and 
fencing, but in general, the young trees are not tall enough 
to shade the road, while they are sufficiently high to pre- 
vent the circulation of the air, and in consequence, the 
traveler who rides through this region in sultry weather, 
finds the heat insufl'erably oppressive. This tract is near- 
ly level, and very dry. But few springs or running 
streams are found upon the surface ; and its general re- 
semblance to the prairies, of wliich we shall treat here- 
after, sufficiently shews an identity of character and origin. 

Beyond the Barrens, and throughout what is termed the 
Green river country, the lands are timbered, and in gen- 
eral fertile. Some of the counties are populous and well 
improved ; but this part of the state having been settled 
at a comparatively recent period, exhibits for the most 
part, the indications peculiar to a newly settled country. 

As our plan does not admit of great minuteness of de- 
tail, we shall not pursue these descriptions through the 
state of Tennessee. The variety of surface and scenery 
is even greater here than in Kentucky. A large propor- 
tion of the territory is occupied by mountains ; while 
another part extending to the Mississippi partakes of 
the alluvial character which distinguishes the borders of 
that river. 

In attempting to describe the remarkable features of 
the topography of the western country, our intention if 
to dwell chiefly on those which are the most peculiarly 
characteristic. We have passed hastily over those parts 
which difl'er in appearance and in quality, from the 
general surface, so greatly as to form exceptions, bu' 
which yet partake of some of the attributes of the wdiole ; 



THE PRAIRIES. 69 

and shall proceed to speak of that broad plain which com- 
prises the great body of the lands of the west, and which 
in the vastness of its extent, in the uniformity of its out 
line, in the singularity of its conformation, and in the 
unbounded fertility of its soil, stands without a rival. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Prairies — their Appearance. 



It is perhaps not easy to account for the intense curiosity 
and surprise, which have been universally excited by the 
existence of these plains ; for they have been found in 
various parts of the world. The steppes of Asia, the 
pampas of South America, and the deserts of Africa, are 
alike destitute of timber. But they have existed from 
different causes ; and while one has been found too arid 
and sterile to give birth to vegetation, and another snow- 
clad and inhospitable, others exist in temperate climates and 
exhibit the most amazing fertility of soil. These facts 
show that there are various causes inimical to the growth 
of trees, and that the forest is not necessarily the spon- 
taneous product of the earth, and its natural covering, 
wherever its surface is left uncultivated by the hand of 
man. The vegetable kingdom embraces an infinite vari- 
ety of plants, ' from the cedar of licbanon to the hysop 
that groweth on the wall ;' and the plan of nature, in 
which there is no miscalculation, has provided that there 
shall be a necessary concatenation of circumstances — a 
proper adaptation of soil, climate, moisture — of natural 
and secondary causes, to produce and to protect each : 
just as she has assigned the wilderness to the Indian, the 
rich pasture to the grazing herd, and the Alps to the 
mountain goat. 



70 THE PRAIRIES. 

I apprehend that the intense astonishment, with which 
the American pioneers first beheld a prairie, and which 
we all feel in gazing over these singularly beautiful plains, 
is the result of association. The adventurers who pre- 
ceded us, from the champaign districts of France, have 
left no record of any such surprise ; on the contrary, they 
discovered in these flowery meadows something, that re- 
minded them of home ; and their sprightly imaginations 
at once suggested, that nothing was wanting but the vine- 
yard, the peasant's cottage, and the stately chateau, to 
render the resemblance complete. Bat our immediate 
ancestors came from lands covered with wood, and in 
their minds the idea of a wilderness was indissolubly con- 
nected with that of a forest. They had settled in the 
woods upon the shores of the Atlantic ; and there their 
ideas of a new country had been formed. As they pro- 
ceeded to the west, they found the shadows of the heavy 
foliage deepening upon their path, and the luxuriant forest 
becoming at every step more stately and intense, confirm- 
ing the impression, that as they receded from civilization, 
the woodland must continue to accumulate the gloom of its 
savage and silent grandeur around them — until suddenly 
the glories of the prairie burst upon their enraptured gaze, 
with its widely extended landscape, its verdure, its flow- 
ers, its picturesque groves, and all its exquisite variety of 
mellow shade and sunny light. 

Had our English ancestors, on the other hand, first set- 
tled upon the plains of Missouri and Illinois, and the tide 
of emigration was now setting towards the forests of Ohio 
and Kentucky, climbing the rocky barriers of the Alle- 
gheny ridge, and pouring itself down upon the wooded 
shores of the Atlantic, the question would not be asked, 
how the western plains became denuded of timber, but 
by what miracle of Providence, a vast region had been 
clothed, with so much regularity, with the most splendid 
and gigantic productions of nature, and preserved through 



THE PRAIRIES. 71 

whole centuries from the devastations of the frost and the 
fire, the hurricane and the flood. We have all remarked 
how simple and how rapid is the process of rearing the 
annual flower, or the more hardy varieties of grass, and 
with what ease a spot of ground may be covered with a 
carpet of verdure ; and we know equally well how difli- 
cult it is to protect an orchard or a grove, and how nu- 
merous are the accidents which assail a tree. An expanse 
of natural meadow is not therefore so much an object of 
curiosity, as a continuous forest; the former coming rap- 
idly to perfection, with but few enemies to assail it, the 
latter advancinor slowly to maturity, surrounded hv dan- 
gers. Hence there is, to my mind, no scene so imposing, 
none which awakens sensations of such admiration and 
solemnity, as the forest standing in its aboriginal integrity, 
and bearing the indisputable marks of antiquity — where 
we stand upon a soil composed of the vegetable mould, 
which can only have been produced by the undisturbed 
accumulation of ages, and behold around us the healthful 
and gigantic trees, whose immense shafts have been in- 
creasing- in size for centuries, and which have stood 
during that whole time exposed to tlie lightning, the wind, 
and the frost, and to the depredations of the insect and 
the brute. 

The scenery of the prairie country excites a different 
feeling. The novelty is striking, and never fails to cause 
an exclamation of surprise. The extent of the prospect 
is exhilarating. The outline of the landscape is sloping, 
and graceful. The verdure and the flowers are beautiful : 
and the absence of shade, and consequent appearance of 
a profusion of light, produces a gaiety which animates the 
beholder. 

It is necessary to explain that these plains, although 
preserving a general level in respect to the whole country, 
are yet in themselves not /laf, but exhibit a gr^icefully 
waving surface, swelling and sinking with an easy slope, 



73 THE PRAIRIES. 

and a full rounded outline, equally avoiding the unmean- 
ing horizontal surface, and the interruption of abrupt or 
angular elevations. It is that surface which, in the ex- 
pressive language of the country, is called rolling, and 
which has been said to resemble the long heavy swell of 
the ocean, when its waves are subsiding to rest after the 
agitation of a storm. 

, It is to be remarked also, that the prairie is almost al- 
ways elevated in the centre, so that in advancing into it 
from either side, you see before you only the plain, with 
its curved outline marked upon the sky, and forming the 
horizon, but on reaching the highest point, you look 
around upon the whole of the vast scene. 

The attraction of the prairie consists in its extent, its 
carpet of verdure and flowers, its undulating surface, its 
groves, and the fringe of timber by which it is surrounded. 
Of all these, the latter is the most expressive feature — it 
is that which gives character to the landscape, which im- 
parts the shape, and marks the boundary of the plain. 
If the prairie be small, its greatest beauty consists in the 
vicinity of the surrounding margin of Avoodland, which 
resembles the shore of a lake, indented with deep vistas 
like bays and inlets, and throwing out long points, like 
capes and headlands ; while occasionally these points 
approach so close on either hand, that tlie traveler passes 
through a narrow avenue or strait, where the shadows of 
the woodland fall upon his path, — and then again emerges 
into another prairie. Where the plain is large, the forest 
outline is seen in the far perspective, like the dim shore 
when beheld at a distance from the ocean. The eye 
sometimes roams over the green meadow, without dis- 
covering a tree, a shrub, or any object in the immense 
expanse, but the wilderness of grass and flowers ; while 
at another time, the prospect is enlivened by the groves, 
which are seen interspersed like islands, or the solitary 
tree> which stands alone in the blooming desert. 



1 



THE PRAIRIES. 73 

If it be in the spring of the year, and the young grass 
has just covered the ground with a carpet of deUcate green, 
and especially if the sun is rising from behind a distant 
swell of the plain, and glittering upon the dew-drops, no 
scene can be more lovely to the eye. The deer is seen 
grazing quietly upon the plain ; the bee is on the wing ; 
the wolf, with his tail drooped, is sneaking away to his 
covert with the felon tread of one who is conscious that 
he has disturbed the peace of nature ; and the grouse 
feeding in flocks, or in pairs, like the domestic fowl, 
cover the whole surface — the males strutting and erecting 
their plumage like the peacock, and uttering a long, loud, 
mournful note, something like the cooing of the dove, 
but resembling still more the sound produced by passing 
a rough finger boldly over the surface of a tambourine. 
The number of these birds is astonishing. The plain is 
covered with them in every direction ; and when they 
have been driven from the ground by a deep snow, I have 
seen thousands — or more properly tens of thousands— 
thickly clustered in the tops of the trees surrounding the 
prairie. They do not retire as the country becomes set- 
tled, but continue to lurk in the tall grass around the 
newly made farms ; and I have sometimes seen them 
mingled with the domestic fowls, at a short distance from 
the farmer's door. They will eat, and even thrive when 
confined in a coop, and may undoubtedly be domesticated. 

When the eye roves off from the green plain, to the 
groves, or points of timber, these also are found to be at 
this season robed in the most attractive hues. The rich 
undergrowth is in full bloom. The red-bud, the dog-wood, 
the crab-apple, the wild plum, the cherry, the wild rose, 
are abundant in all the rich lands ; and the grape vine, 
though its blossom is unseen, fills the air with fragrance. 
The variety of the wild fruit, and flowering shrubs, is so 
great, and such the profusion of the blossoms with which 

G 



74 THE PRAIRIES. 

they are bowed down, that the eye is regaled almost io 
satiety. 

The gayety of the prairie, its embellishments, and the 
absence of the gloom and savage wildness of the forest, 
all contribute to dispel the feeling of lonesomeness, which 
usually creeps over the mind of the solitary traveler in 
the wilderness. Though he may not see a house, nor a 
human being, and is conscious that he is far from the 
habitations of men, he can scarcely divest himself of the 
idea that he is traveling through scenes embellished by 
the hand of art. The flowers, so fragile, so delicate, and 
so ornamental, seem to have been tastefully disposed to 
adorn the scene. The groves and clumps of trees appear 
to have been scattered over the lawn to beautify the land- 
scape, and it is not easy to avoid that illusion of the fancy, 
which persuades the beholder, that such sceneiy has been 
created to gratify the refined taste of civilized man. Eu- 
ropeans are often reminded of the resemblance of this 
scenery to that of the extensive parks of noblemen, which 
they have been accustomed to admire, in the old world ; 
the lawn, the avenue, the grove, the copse, which are 
there produced by art, are here prepared by nature ; a 
splendid specimen of massy architecture, and the distant 
view of villages, are alone wanting to render the simili- 
tude complete. 

In the summer, the prairie is covered with long coarse 
grass, which soon assumes a golden hue, and waves in 
the wind like a ripe harv^est. Those who have not a 
personal knowledge of the subject, would be deceived by 
the accounts which are published of the height of the 
grass. It is seldom so tall as travelers have represented, 
nor does it attain its highest grovv'th in the richest soil. 
In the low, wet prairies, where the substratum of clay lies 
near the surface, the centre or main stem of this grass, 
which bears the seed, acquires great thickness, and shoots 
up to the height of eight or nine feet, throwing out a few 



THE PRAIRIES. 75 

long coarse leaves or blades, and the traveler often finds 
it higher than his head as he rides through it on horseback. 
The plants, although numerous and standing close to- 
gether, appear to grow singly and unconnected, the whole 
force of the vegetative power expanding itself upward. 
But in the rich undulating prairies, the grass is finer, with 
less of stalk, and a greater profusion of leaves. The 
roots spread and interweave so as to form a compact even 
sod, and the blades expand into a close thick sward, 
which is seldom more than eighteen inches high, and 
often less, until late in the season, when the seed-bearinff 
stem shoots up. 

The first coat of grass is mingled with small flowers ; 
the violet, the bloom of the strawberry, and others of the 
most minute and delicate texture. As the grass increases 
in size, these disappear, and others, taller and more gau- 
dy, display their brilliant colors upon the green surface, 
and still later a larger and coarser succession rises with 
the rising tide of verdure. A fanciful writer asserts that 
the prevalent color of the prairie flowers is, in the spring 
a bluish purple, in midsummer red, and in the autumn 
yellow. This is one of the notions that people get, who 
study nature by the fireside. The truth is, that the whole 
of the surface of these beautiful plains, is clad throughout 
the season of verdure, with every imaginable variety of 
color, ' from grave to gay.' It is impossible to conceive 
a more infinite diversity, or a richer profusion of hues, or 
to detect any predominating tint, except the green, which 
forms the beautiful ground, and relieves the exquisite 
brilliancy of all the others. The only changes of color 
observed at the different seasons, arise from tlie circum- 
stance, that in the spring the flowers are small and the 
colors delicate ; as the heat becomes more ardent a hardier 
race appears, the flowers attain a greater size, and the 
hue deepens ; and still later a succession of coarser plants 
rise above the tall grass, throwing out larger and gaudier 



76 THE PRAIRIES. 

flowers. As the season advances from spring to midsum- 
mer, the individual flower becomes less beautiful when 
closely inspected, but the landscape, is far more variegat- 
ed, rich, and glowing. 

In the winter, the prairies present a gloomy and deso- 
late scene. The fire has passed over them, and consumed 
every vegetable substance, leaving the soil bare, and the 
surface perfectly black. That gi'acefully waving outline, 
which was so attractive to the eye when clad in green, is 
now disrobed of all its ornaments ; its fragrance, its notes 
of joy, and the graces of its landscape, have all vanished, 
and the bosom of the cold earth, scorched and discolored, 
is alone visible. The w4nd sighs mournfully over the 
black plain; but there is no object to be moved by its in- 
fluence — not a tree to wave its long arms in the blast, nor 
a reed to bend its fragile stem — not a leaf, nor even a 
blade of grass to tremble in the breeze. There is nothing 
to be seen but the cold dead earth and the bare mound, 
which move not — and the traveler with a singular sensa- 
tion, almost of awe, feels the blast rushing over him, 
while not an object visible to the eye, is seen to stir. 
Accustomed as the mind is to associate with the action of 
the wind its operation upon surrounding objects, and to 
see nature bowing and trembling, and the fragments of 
matter mounting upon the wind, as the storm passes, 
there is a novel effect produced on the mind of one who 
feels the current of air rolling heavily over him, while 
nothing moves around. 

By those who have never seen this region, a very toler- 
able idea may be formed of the manner in which the 
prairie and forest alternate, and the proportions of each, 
by drawing a colored line of irregular breadth, along the 
edges of all the water courses laid down in the map. The 
border thus shaded, which would represent the woodland, 
would vary in width from one to five or six miles, and 
would sometimes extend to twelve. As the streams ap- 



THE PRAIRIES. 77 

proach each other, these borders would approximate, or 
come into contact; and all the intermediate spaces, not 
thus colored would be prairie. It is true therefore, as a 
general rule, in relation to the states in which the prairies 
are situated, that wherever there is a considerable tract 
of surface, not intersected by water courses, it is level, and 
destitute of timber ; but in the vicinity of springs and 
streams the country is clothed in forest. 
- Taking as an example the country lying between the 
Ohio and Mississippi rivers, it will be seen that in the 
point formed by their junction, the forest covers the whole 
ground, and that as these rivers diverge, the prairies begin 
to intervene. At first there is only an occasional meadow, 
small, and not very distinctly defined. Proceeding north- 
ward the timber is found to decrease, and the prairies to 
expand ; yet the plains are still comparatively small, 
wholly unconnected with each other, and their outlines 
distinctly marked by the woodlands which surround and 
separate them. They are insulated and distinct tracts of 
meadow land, embosomed in the forest. Advancing fur- 
ther to the north, the prairie surface begins to predominate ; 
the prairies now become large, and communicate with 
each other like a chain of lakes, by means of numerous 
avenues or vistas ; still however, the traveler is surrounded 
by timber ; his eye never loses sight of the deep green 
outline, throwing out its capes and headlands; though he 
sees no more those dense forests and large trees, Avhose 
deep shade almost appalled him in the more southern 
district. 

Travelling onward in the same direction, the prairies 
continue to expand, until we find ourselves surrounded 
by one vast plain. In the country over which we have 
passed, the forest is interspersed with these interesting 
plains ; here the prairie is studded with groves and 
copses, and the streams fringed with strips of woodland. 
The eye sometimes roves over an immense expanse 

g2 



78 THE PRAIRIES. 

clothed with grass, discovering no other object on which 
to rest, and finding no limit to its vision but the distant 
horizon ; while more frequently it wanders from grove to 
grove, and from one point of woodland to another, charmed 
and refreshed by an endless variety of scenic beauty. 

This description applies chiefly to Illinois, from a 
careful inspection of which state we have drawn the pic- 
ture ; but its general outlines are true of Indiana and 
Missouri, and are applicable, to some extent, to Ohio and 
Michigan. But if our path lie still farther to the west, 
and conduct us to the wide tracts that extend from the 
waters of the Arkansas to those of the Missouri and Mis- 
sissippi, we arrive at a region of boundless plains — bound- 
less to the eye of the traveler, which discovers nothing 
but the verdant carpet and the blue sky, without a grove, 
a tree, or a bush, to add variety to the landscape, and 
where the naked meadow often commences at the very 
margins of the streams. 

When the prairie is bare, it is easy to distinguish the 
rich from the poorer lands, by the small hillocks which 
are scattered over them, and which are most abundant 
where the soil is least productive. They are from a few 
inches, to tAVO or three feet in height, and can only, of 
course, exist where the clay lies near tlie surface ; as such 
mounds composed of the rich mould, would soon crumble 
away. They have a singular appearance, and are some- 
times so thickly scattered as to be inconvenient to the 
horseman, who attempts to ride through the high grass. 
The inhabitants call them gopher hills, under the belief 
that they were raised by a small quadruped of that name. 
I never saw a gopher — nor a man who had seen one. 
Col. Long, however, and his companions saw them far 
to the west ; so that while the existence of such an ani- 
mal seems to be proved, it is obvious from the fact that it 
is no longer seen within our settlements, that like the In- 
dian it cannot endure the vicinity of civilized man, and 



THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 79 

has long since forsaken our borders. But I am inclined 
to believe that very few of the hillocks attributed to these 
animals are of their workmanship. In the wet prairies 
they are thrown up by crawfish, v/ho always buiTow in 
the clay, and not in rich or crumbling soil, that would 
cave in and mar their labor ; in drier situations they have 
been thrown up by industrious colonies of ants, who also 
belong to the clay party, and make their internal improve- 
ments in the kind of earth best suited to their purpose 



CHAPTER VI. 

Theory of the Prairies, 



The prairies afford a subject of curious inquiry to 
every traveler who visits these regions. Their appearance 
is novel and imposing, and he who beholds it for the first 
time experiences a sensation similar to that which fills 
the imagination at the first sight of the ocean. The wide 
and unlimited prospect calls up perceptions of the sublime 
and beautiful ; its peculiarity awakens a train of inquisi- 
tive thought. Upon the mind of an American especially, 
accustomed to see new land clothed with timber, and to 
associate the idea of a tangled and silent forest, with that 
of a wilderness, t'^e appearance of sunny plains, and a 
diversified landscape, untenanted by man, and unimproved 
by art, is singular and striking. Perhaps if our imagina- 
tions were divested of the impressions created by memo- 
ry, the subject would present less difficulty; and if we 
could reason abstractly, it might be as easy to account for 
the origin of a prairie, as for that of a forest. 

It is natural to suppose that the first covering of the 
earth would be composed of such plants as arrive at ma- 



80 THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 

turity in the shortest time. Annual plants would ripen, 
and scatter their seeds, many times, before trees and 
shrubs would acquire the power of reproducing their own 
species. In the mean time the propagation of the latter 
would be liable to be retarded by a variety of accidents — 
the frost would nip their tender stems in the winter — hre 
would consume, or the blast would shatter them — and 
the wild grazing animals would bite them off, or tread 
them under foot ; while many of their seeds, particularly 
such as assume the form of nuts or fruit, would be de- 
voured by animals. The grasses, which are propagated 
both by the root and by seed, are exempt from the opera- 
tion of almost all these casualties. Providence has, with 
unerring wisdom, fitted every production of nature to sus 
tain itself against the accidents to which it is most ex 
posed, and has given to those plants which constitute the 
food of animals, a remarkable tenacity of life ; so that al- 
though bitten off, and trodden, and even burned, they 
still retain the vital principle. That trees have a similar 
power of self protection, if we may so express it, is evi- 
dent from their present existence in a state of nature. 
We only assume, that in the earliest s*ate of being, the 
grasses would have the advantage, over plants less hardy, 
and of slower growth ; and that when both are struggling 
tDgether for the possession of the soil, the former w^ould 
at first gain the ascendancy ; although the latter, in con- 
sequence of their superior size and strength, would final- 
ly, if they should ever get possession of any portion of 
the soil, entirely overshadow and destroy their humble 
rivals. 

We have no means of determining at what period the 
fires began to sweep over these plains, because we know 
not when they began to be inhabited. It is quite possible 
that they might have been occasionally fired by lightning 
previous to the introduction of that element by human 
agency. At all events, it is very evident that as soon as 



I 



THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 81 

fire began to be used in this country by its inhabitants, 
the annual burning of the prairie must have commenced. 

One of the peculiarities of this climate is the dryness 
of its summers and autumns. A drought often commences 
in August, which, with the exception of a few showers 
towards the close of that month, continues, with little in- 
terruption, throughout the fall season. The autumnal 
months are almost invariably clear, warm, and dry. The 
immense mass of vegetation, with which this fertile soil 
loads itself during the summer, is suddenly withered, and 
the whole earth covered with combustible materials. 
This is especially true of the prairies, where the grass 
gi'ows from two to ten feet high, and being entirely ex- 
posed to the action of the sun and wind, dries with great 
rapidity. A single spark of fire, falling any where upon 
these plains, at such a time, instantly kindles a blaze, that 
spreads on every side, and continues its destructive course 
as long as it finds fuel. 

Travelers have described these fires as sweeping with 
a rapidity, which renders it hazardous even to fly before 
them ; and our children's books and school geographies 
are embellished with plates, representing men, horses, 
and wild animals, retreating at full speed, and with every 
mark of terror, before the devouring element. These are 
exaggerations. If instances of this kind of danger have 
ever occurred, they have been rare. We have never 
witnessed, or heard of such a scene. There is not an 
authenticated case, on record, or in tradition, in which a 
man or an animal has been burned by these fires, unless 
he was drunk or wounded. The burning of several In- 
dians mentioned by Lewis and Clarke, was probably the 
result of some unusual accident, which thev did not think 
necessary to explain. The thick sward of the prairie 
presents a considerable mass of fuel, and offers a barrier 
tO the progress of the flame, not easily surmounted. The 
ire advances slowly, and with power. The heat is in- 



82 THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 

tense. The flames often extend across a wide prairie, and 
advance in a long line. No sight can be more sublime, 
than to behold at night, a stream of fire several miles in 
breadth, advancing across these plains, leaving behind it 
a black cloud of smoke, and throwing before it a vivid 
glare which lights up the whole landscape with the bril- 
liancy of noonday. .A roaring and cracking sound is 
heard like the rushing of a hurricane. The flame, which 
in general rises to the height of about twenty feet, is seen 
sinking, and darting upward in spires, precisely as the 
waves dash against each other, and as the spray flies up 
into the air ; and the whole appearance is often that of a 
boiling and flaming sea, violently agitated. The progress 
of the fire is so slow, and the heat so great, that every 
combustible material in its course is consumed. The 
root of the prairie-grass alone, by some peculiar adapta- 
tion of nature, is spared ; for of most other vegetables, 
not only is the stem destroyed, but the vital principle ex- 
tinguished. Woe to the farmer, whose ripe corn fields 
extend into the prairie, and who has carelessly suflered 
the tall grass to grow in contact with his fences ! The 
whole labor of the year is swept away in a few hours. 
But such accidents are comparatively unfrequent, as the 
preventive is simple, and easily applied. A narrow strip 
of bare ground prevents the fire from extending to the 
space beyond it. A beaten road, of the width of a single 
wagon track, arrests its progress. The treading of the 
domestic animals around the inclosures of the farmer af- 
fords often a suflicient protection, by destroying the fuel 
in their vicinity ; and in other cases a few furrows are 
drawn round the field v;ith the plough, or the wild grass 
is closely mowed down on the outside of the fence. 

It will be readily seen, that as soon as those fires com- 
menced, all the young timber within their range, must 
have been destroyed. The Avhole face of the country be- 
ing spread out into vast plains, unbroken by hills, and but 



THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 83 

little intersected by streams, or other obstacles which 
might obstruct the onward career of the devouring ele- 
ment, the fire kindled at different places, would sweep 
on unchecked, until it had passed over the whole region — 
with a few exceptions, of which we shall now speak. 

In the bottom lands, and along the margins of streams, 
the grass and herbage remains green until late in the 
autumn, in consequence of the moisture of the soil. Here 
the fire would stop, for want of fuel ; the shrubs would 
thus escape from year to year, and the outer bark acquire 
sufficient hardness to protect the inner and more vital 
parts. The margins of' the streams having thus become 
fringed with thickets, the latter, by shading the ground, 
would desti'oy the grass, and prevent the moisture of the 
soil from being rapidly evaporated ; so that even the fallen 
leaves would not become dried so thoroughly, or so early 
in the season, as the grass of the open plains, and the fire 
would always afterwards find here comparatively little 
fuel. These thickets grow up into strips of forests, which 
continue to extend until they reach the high table land 
of the prairie ; and so invariably exact is this process, 
that we see the timber now, not only covering all the 
bottom lands, and hillsides skirting the streams, but 
wherever a ravine or hollow extends from the low grounds 
up into the prairie, these are filled with young timber of 
more recent ofrowth. But the moment we reach the level 
plain of the country, we see the evidences of a continued 
struggle between the forest and the prairie : at one place, 
where the fire has, on some occasion, burned with greater 
fierceness than usual, it has successfully assailed the 
edges of the forest, and made deep inroads, and at ano- 
ther, the forest has pushed long capes or points into the 
prairie. 

Having thus stated briefly the theory whicli seems to 
us to be consisteat with reason, and adduced as many 
facts as appear neeessary to its support, we shall for the 



84 THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 

present, to avoid repetition, omit some striking proofs 
which will be necessarily alluded to hereafter, and proceed 
to exhibit some of the hypotheses advanced by others. 

The flood has, of course, been cited as the grand cause 
of the formation of the prairies — for what phenomenon 
in the geological or the topographical aspect of the earth, 
has not been referred to some one of the great concatena 
tion of events which attended that extraordinary exertion 
of omnipotence ! But we do not venture to go back so 
far. We are satisfied with having found a sufficient ex- 
planation within a more recent period. That the great 
plain of the west may have been formed by the deposition 
of earthy particles which took place upon the subsiding 
of the waters, after that wonderful catastrophe, is very 
probable ; though we doubt whether much light will ever 
be shed upon the subject, or whether it be practicable to 
ascertain any thing further in relation to that awful event, 
than the sacred historian has deemed it proper to disclose. 
It has however little to do with the growth of timber at 
one location, or the absence of that production at another 

A writer in the American Quarterly Review, for whose 
judgment we entertain the most perfect respect, has sug- 
gested an explanation somewhat different from that which 
we have advanced. He says, " The origin of these 
prairies has occasioned much theory ; it is to our minds 
very simple ; they are caused by the Indian custom of 
annually burning the leaves and grass in autumn, which 
prevents the growth of any young trees. Time will thus 
form prairies ; for some of the old trees annually perish- 
ing, and there being no undergrowth to supply their place, 
they become thinner every year ; and as they diminish 
they shade the grass less, Avhich therefore grows more 
luxuriantly, and when a strong wind carries a fire through 
the dried grass and leaves which cover the earth with com- 
bustible matter several feet deep, the volume of flame de- 
stroys all before it ; the very animals cannot escape. 



THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 8S 

We have seen it enwrap a forest upon which it was pre- 
cipitated, and destroy whole acres of trees. After a 
beginning is made, the circle widens every year, until 
prairies open as boundless as the ocean. Young growth 
follows the American settlement, since the settler keeps 
off those annual burnings. Another proof of our theory 
is, that prairies are all upon rich, rolling, and compara- 
tively dry, soil, where much vegetable matter Avould 
accumulate to raise the flanae, and but little moisture to 
counteract it." 

This writer differs from us, in supposing that the forest 
has been destroyed by the action of fire, w^hile we ima- 
gine that its production has been prevented by that cause. 
We deny that there is any proof of fires in the woods 
having been so extensive, or so destructive as he sup- 
poses. The destruction of growing timber by fire is not 
a common occurrence, though we do not question that 
the writer has witnessed it under the circumstances which 
he states. The fact is undeniable, that in those countries 
where woodland and prairie are found adjacent, the fire 
ceases to display the same destructive energy in the for- 
mer, that it exhibits in the latter. The edges of the 
prairie do not exhibit appearances of encroachment by 
fire on the timber ; on the contrary the woodland seems 
to be increasing, and it is much more common to see 
young thickets spreading out from the woods upon the 
plain, than to behold the str.mps and trunks of trees 
which had been killed by fire. But a conclusive argu- 
ment is, that the destruction of the forest by fire, for 
which the writer contends, would have taken place on the 
hills, and on broken grounds, as well as on the level, while 
the prairie only occupies the latter. 

In the very interesting narrative of Long's First Expe- 
dition to the west, we find a statement similar to that 
which we have quoted, though advanced with less confi- 
dence. " The lands immediately in the rear of St. Louis, 

H 



86 THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 

between the Mississippi and the Missouri, below their 
junction, have an undulated surface, and a deep alluvial 
soil. Since their occupation by permanent inhabitants, 
the yearly ravages of the fire have been prevented, and a 
dense growth of oaks and elms has sprung up." 

" In this fact we have a satisfactory explanation of the 
cause of the present want of forest trees in extensive tracts 
on the Missouri, which appear, in every respect, adapted 
to the growth of timber. If these lands, called prairies, 
were at any former jjeriod covered ivith forests, it may 
easily be supposed, the yearly devastations of fires break- 
ing out in dry seasons, would destroy many of the trees. 
The forests being thus broken, the growth of grass and 
annual plants would be greatly facilitated by the naked- 
ness of the soil, and the free admission of the rays of the 
sun. Forests attract rain, and impede evaporation, while 
the reverberation from the surface of vast plains and des- 
erts, tends to dissipate the clouds and vapors v/hich are 
driven over them by the winds. In fertile districts like 
the alluvial lands of the Missouri and Mississippi, a heavy 
annual growth of herbaceous plants is produced, which, 
after the autumnal frosts, becomes dry and peculiarly adapt- 
ed to facilitate and extend the ravages of fire. In a coun- 
try occupied by hunters, who are kindling their camp 
fires in every part of the forest, and who often like the 
Mongalls in the grassy deserts of Asia, set fire to the 
plains, in order to attract herbivorous animals, by the 
growth of tender and nutritious herbage which springs 
up soon after the burning, it is easy to see these annual 
conflagrations could not fail to happen." 

"In the Autumn of 1819 the burnings, owing to the 
unusual drought, continued until very late in the season, 
so. that the weeds in the low grounds were consumed, to 
the manifest injury of the forests. Large bodies of tim- 
ber are so frequently destroyed in this way, that the ap- 



THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 8'i{ 

pearance has become fiimiiiar to hunters and travelers, 
and has received the name of deadening.^'* 

To this statement, taken altogether, we have no objec- 
tion, as it does not differ materially from our own views. 
If \hQ plains, — as the author cautiously suggests, were at 
any former period covered with forest, there is no other 
agent than fire, by means of which they could have become 
denuded. And the admission, in the latter part of the quo- 
tation, that an unusual drought, continuing late in the 
season, is necessary to carry the fire into the low grounds, 
and render it injurious to the forests, is all that Vve could 
ask, to shev/ that these are exceptions, whose occasional 
occurrence could not produce an effect so invariable, as the 
non-existence of timber on the plains of the west. 

Major Stoddard, in his Sketches of Louisiana, holds the 
following language : " The prairies are covered with 
grass. These were probably occasioned by the ravages 
of fire ; because whenever copses of trees are found on 
them, the ground about them is low, and too moist to ad 
mit the fire to pass over it." 

An opinion differing from all these is expressed by the 
enterprising traveler. Pike, who in speaking of the prairies 
attributes their destitution of timber, to a deficiency of 
moisture in the soil and climate. " I therefore consider,' 
says he, " that this country never was timbered, as from 
the earliest ages, the aridity of the soil, having so few 
water courses running through it, and they being princi- 
pally dry in summer, has never afforded moisture suffi- 
cient to support the grov/th of timber." This argument 
might apply, with sufficient plausibility, to the deserts of 
Arabia, and to the sand plains lying east of the Rocky 
mountains, where there is not enough of moisture to afford 
nourishment to any vegetation ; but the character of our 
prairies is not that of barrenness. The plain of the Mis- 
sissippi is dry, but not so arid as to be incapable of sup- 
porting vegetable life. The luxuriance of tlie wild growth, 



88 THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 

and the admirable adaptation of the soil to the purposes 
of husbandry, afford conclusive evidence that although 
the surface be parched, there is some process by w^hich 
nature affords an ample supply of moisture : and this is 
probably by the ascension of water by capillary attraction, 
through the porous substrata, from the subterranean cur- 
rents, which are known to be abundant, and to lie near 
the surface. General Pike wrote before any part of the 
prairie region was settled by the American people, when 
but little of it had been explored, and when the facts to 
which we have alluded in support of our views, had not 
been ascertained. 

It has been suggested that the prairies were caused by 
hurricanes, which had blown down the timber, and left it 
in a condition to be consumed by fire, after it was dried 
by lying on the ground. A single glance at the immense 
region in which the prairie surface predominates, must 
refute this idea. Hurricanes are quite limited in their 
sphere of action. Although they sometimes extend for 
many miles in length, their track is always narrow, and 
often but a few hundred yards in breadth. And it is a 
well known fact, that wherever the timber has been thus 
prostrated, a dense and tangled thicket shoots up imme- 
diately, and protected by the fallen trees, grows with un- 
common vigor. 

Some have imagined that our prairies have been lakes ; 
but this hypothesis is not tenable. If the whole state of 
Illinois is imagined to have been one lake, it ought to be 
shewn that it has a general concavity of surface. But so 
far from this being true, the contrary is the fact : the high- 
est parts of the state are in its centre. If we suppose, 
as some assert, that each prairie was once a lake, we are 
met by the same objection ; as a general rule, the prairies 
are highest in the middle, and have a gradual declivity 
towards the sides ; and when we reach the timber, instead 
of finding bank? corresponding with the shores of a lake, 



THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 8^ 

we almost invariably discover valleys, ravines, and water 
courses, considerably depressed below the general level 
of the plain. Nor does the circumstance ol" ponds being 
found in the middle of prairies, disprove the assertion that 
they are convex, and highest in the centre, as is suggest- 
ed by one of our writers, any more than depressions on 
the surface of the globe, prove that it is not round. There 
cannot be the least ground for a doubt, that, as a general 
rule, the prairie surface is slightly, but decidedly, convex. 

Wherever hills are found rising above the common plane 
of the country, they are clothed with timber ; and the 
same fact is true of all broken lands. This affords addi- 
tional evidence in support of our theory. Most of the 
land in such situations is poor ; the grass would be short, 
and if it burned at all, would occasion but little heat. In 
some places the progress of the fire Avould be checked by 
rocks and ravines ; and in no case would there be that 
accumulation of dry material which is found on the fer- 
tile plain, nor that broad unbroken surface, and free ex- 
posure, which are required to afford full scope to the 
devouring element. 

There are other facts, too vrell known to admit of dis- 
pute, which strongly corroborate these views. It is un- 
deniable, that from the first settlement of the western 
prairies, the timber has been rapidly increasing ; and 
from the best information that we can get on the subject," 
it is pretty certain, that it spreads in a proportion at least 
equal to the increase of population. Although thousands 
of acres of woodland are annually cleared, it is unques- 
tionably true, that the quantity of timber in the v/hole 
region in which prairies are embraced, is increasing with 
every year. Wherever a prairie, of but few miles in ex- 
tent, is entirely surrounded by the farms which occupy 
the adjoining woodland, it is found that the wild grass is 
quickly succeeded by a growth of weeds, and that these 
in turn give place to bushes. The operation is simple. 

H 3 



90 THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 

We have already shown, that the growth of timber is only 
prevented by the annual fires ; and it is easily seen that 
where a portion of the prairie is insulated, as above de- 
scribed, the precautions used by the farmers, to defend 
their own property from the devouring element, will also 
protect that portion of the prairie which is thus detached 
from the main body. The large herds of domestic cattle, 
also, Avhich run at large in the new settlements, contribute 
to this process, by keeping down the luxuriance of the 
natural grass, so as to leave but little fuel for the fire, 
even in places exposed to its approach. It is therefore a 
common observation, that around all the farms, the prairie 
has given, or is giving way, to thickets. In the oldest 
counties, where settlements have existed for twenty or 
thirty years, forests of excellent timber are now shown, 
of several miles in extent, the whole of which has grown 
up within the memory of the inhabitants. So rapid, and 
so certain, is this process, that we may state the fact as 
undeniable, that wherever the soil is protected from the 
action of the fire, timber will grow spontaneously, which, 
in from sixteen to twenty years, will be fit to be used for 
fuel, fencing, and many other purposes. 

An instance of the facility with which the soil, when 
protected from fire becomes covered with timber, occur- 
red under the notice of the writer. An individual had 
enclosed a single field in the prairie, in w^hich corn was 
cultivated for several years, when it was abandoned, and 
the rails which composed the fence carried away. In 
the mean while the corners of the fence, and a narrow 
strip on each side of it, having been protected from the fire 
on the one hand, and the plough on the other, grew up 
in bushes. After the field was deserted, this natural 
hedge remained fijr years, and still remains ; having 
grown up into a row of tall trees, occupying the former 
'ine of the fence, while the interior of the square became 



THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 91 

also covered with brushwood ; and thus a grove has been 
formed which bids defiance to the fire. 

It v/ill be remembered that we have maintained thattlie 
earth was covered with grass, antecedently to the growth 
of trees. "VVe admitted that on the margins of streams, 
upon mountains, and on broken grounds, — wherever, in 
short, the progress of the autumnal fires should be inter- 
cepted, either by the conformation, or the moisture, of 
the surface, timber would rapidly cover the ground, while 
at the same time we contended, that in the open plains 
grass would long continue to hold possession. We have 
given ample proof of the correctness of this theory, in 
reference to our western prairies ; and we shall now show 
that it is probably true of other parts of the United States. 

In the " Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsyl- 
vania," we find an article entided " Sketches of the early 
history of Byberry in the county of Philadelphia, by Isaac 
Comly," a worthy member of the Society of Friends, and 
a descendant of the companions of Penn. Byberry town- 
ship lies in the north east end of the county of Philadel- 
phia, distant from the city between thirteen and sixteen 
miles. The account is compiled from the most authentic 
sources, and reaches back to the first settlement of the 
country. The writer says, " Byberry was settled early 
after the arrival of William Penn. When the white peo- 
ple first came here, we are informed they found but few 
large trees standing, though plenty of saplings and un- 
derbrush ; and in some places, particidarly in Mooreland, 
the ground was covered with coarse grass, as high as a 
man's head." This is a very striking passage. It seems, 
that there were prairies in Philadelphia county ! and that 
the ground ivas covered with coarse grass that grew as 
high as a man's head, answering precisely to the des- 
cription of the prairie grass of the West. Other spots 
were destitute of large trees, but produced " plenty of sap- 
lings and underbrush," — being in the state intermediate 



aki 



02 THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 

between prairie and forest, and thus affording the strong- 
est proof of the change which the country had then re- 
cently undergone. 

In another vohime of the transactions of the same socie- 
ty, we have " An account of the first settlement of the 
townships of Buckingham and Solesbury, in Bucks county, 
Pennsylvania, by Dr. Joseph Watson," — a gentleman 
who died some few years ago, at an advanced age, and 
whose own recollections, with the accounts transmitted to 
him by his father and grandfather, the latter of whom 
came out with William Penn, supplied him with the most 
authentic information. Speaking of the employments o^ 
the first settlers, he says, " they cut grass in the plains, 
or swamps, often at several miles from home, stacked it 
up on the spot, and hauled it home in the winter." The 
counties of Bucks and Philadelphia, lie adjoining, if we 
mistake not, and occupy an extensive undulating plain on 
the margiin of the Delaware ; and we think that the evi- 
dence of the two writers, who state the facts above quoted, 
incidentally, without any view to the support of a theory, 
sufficiently proves the former existence of prairies in that 
region ; while their non-existence within the memory of 
the present inhabitants, shews also the rapidity VN^th 
which, after settlements are made, timber will cover the 
interjacent plains. 

The first settlers of Kentucky found large tracts of the 
country destitute of trees, and covered with bushes. Sup- 
posing that the want of timber was caused by the sterility 
of the soil, or some other circumstance unfriendly to vege- 
tation, they gave to these spots, the expressive name of 
" the barrens," and carefully avoided them in making 
their selections of land. The barrens, were extensive 
plains, interspersed with hill and dale — not so level as 
the prairies, north and west of the Ohio, yet not broken 
by deep ravines, or abrupt ridges. It was soon discover- 
ed that the bashes were growing up into thrifty saplings ; 



THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 93 

and on farther examination the soil was found to be of 
good quality. The country was soon occupied, and now 
contains a large population ; while forests of valuable tim- 
ber are growing upon the soil, over which, within the 
memory of living witnesses, the hunter could see the deer 
bounding over the brush, as far as the eye could reach. 

Trumbull in his " History of Connecticut," a work 
compiled with great care and labor, from the most au- 
thentic sources, speaks in various places of the practice 
of the early settlers, of cutting hayyVom the wildmeadows : 
a phraseology which distinctly asserts the existence of 
plains, covered with grass, and destitute of timber. He 
also describes these natural meadows, and gives his own 
inferences as to their formation. He says, 

" When the English became first acquainted Mdth that 
tract, comprised within the settled part of Connecticut, it 
was a vast wilderness. There were no pleasant fields, 
nor gardens, no public roads, nor cleared plats. Except 
in places ivkere the timber had been destroyed^ and its 
growth jrr evented by frequent fires, the groves were thick 
and lofty. The Indians so often burned the country, to 
take deer and other wild game, that in many of the plain 
dry parts of it, there was but little small timber. Where 
the lands were thus burned, there grew bent grass, or, a8 
some called it, thatch, tvv^o, three, and four feet high, ac- 
cording to the strength of the land. This, with other 
combustible matter which the fields and groves produced, 
when dry in the spring and fall, burned with violence and 
killed all the small trees. The large ones escaped, and 
generally grew to a notable height and magnitude. In 
this manner the natives so thinned the groves, that they 
were able to plant their corn and obtain a crop." 

This statement is undoubtedly accurate so far as the 
author has related the facts which came down to him ; 
while so much as is the result of his own attempt at ex- 
planation is fallacious. There were plains, which were 



94 THEORY OF THE PRAIRIES. 

annually burned, on which grass greiv, and where the 
Indians raised corn. But corn never grew under the 
shade of large trees of "notable" growth. Whatever 
might have been true of other places, the spots on which 
the grass grew four feet high, and where corn was culti- 
vated, must have been entirely exposed to the action of 
the sun. 

. Captain Smith, on the contrary, found the whole of 
Virginia covered with timber, and is careful to record that 
he saw no plains, " but only where the Salvages inhabit, 
but all overgrown with trees and Vv'eeds, being a plaine 
wildernesse as God first made it." 

Captain Owen, of the British navy, in a late voyage to 
the coast of Africa, of which an interesting account has 
been published, describes a large tract of the interior 
which he explored, as " a low level country, with some 
knots of trees, like park land ;" and from other allusions 
m the same book, we suppose that he often met with ex- 
tensive plains of wild meadow, precisely similar to those 
of Illinois and Missouri. The fact may pass for what it 
is worth. We adduce it for the purpose of shewing that 
there is nothing in the character of our prairies so anoma- 
lous, or so contrary to the laws of nature, as is supposed 
by those who have been accustomed to see wild lands 
clothed with timber. 



SOIL OF THE PRAIRIES. 95 

CHAPTER VII. 

Soil of the Prairies — Explanations in regard to the want of timber. 

Fanciful writers have divided the prairies into alluvial 
and rolling ; but no such distinction exists in point of 
fact, or is tenable according to any received theory, o 
scientific deduction. The formation of the whole is so 
invariable in character, as to render it certain, that if any 
partis alluvial, the whole is equally so, nor do thoff^ plains 
which are rolling, as nearly all are, differ in soil iVcin the 
remainder, so as to justify this sort of classification. The 
probability is that the whole western plain is dUuviaU 
with the exception only of the bottom lands on tlie mar- 
gins of rivers, which are alluvial, and of recent formation. 

The levelness of the surface, the absence of stones, the 
light quality of the loam, with other indications, seem to 
establish the fact, that this vast plain is composed of the 
sediment, deposited at the universal deluge. Marine 
shells have been found in our prairies ; at one place par- 
ticularly, an immense mass of oyster shells lie deposited 
not far below the surface. Logs have been discovered, 
buried thirty or forty feet deep. Boulders, or detached 
masses of stone, are occasionally seen on the prairies, ly- 
ing loosely on the ground, not only entirely separate from 
the limestone pan beneath, but difiering from it in kind. 
They are obviously not meteoric ; and it seems that they 
have been wrenched from their native beds, and brought 
to the places where they are now seen, by some great 
convulsion of nature. They are granite, and there is no 
spot at which that description of rock exists, and from 
which they could have been brought, nearer than the 
Allegheny, or the Rocky mountains, or the northern 
shores of the lakes. Yet they are numerously scattered 
throughout Illinois and Missouri. 



96 SOIL OF THE PRAIRIES. 

The great cause of the amazing fertility of the soil of 
new countries, is, the accumulation of decayed vegetable 
matter upon the surface. The leaves and grass, and othei 
annual productions, which decay in the autumn, cover the 
ground every year with a new coat, of the most fertilizin[ 
quality. The boughs which are continually falling, th( 
bark, of which most trees throw off a portion annually, 
and the trees themselves, which are torn up by tempests, 
or die of old age, form altogether an inexhaustible store, 
which continually rotting and adding to the soil, is as 
continually receiving and preparing new supplies. The 
plains as well as the woodland, are thus enriched. The 
annual burning of the prairies, may interfere to a consider- 
able extent with this arrangement, but it does not defeat 
it ; for although the fall of the leaf occurs emphatically 
and poetically in the autumn, it is not confined exclusive- 
ly to that season. On the contrary, every vegetable is 
constantly throwing off a portion of its substance, and 
throughout the whole season of vegetation, the soil is daily 
gaining something, by deposit ; even the ashes left by the 
autumnal fires, are not without their value. However 
thin the coat may be, which is spread over the earth in 
one year, and how trifling soever it may seem to us, yet, 
when we reflect that this process has been going on for 
ages, it is easy to see that the accumulation must, in the 
aggregate, be important. Nor can we in any other ration- 
al manner, explain the reason of the diflerence between 
new lands, and those v»diich have been exhausted by cul- 
tivation. The one is continually losing by exposure to 
the sun and atmosphere, while its products are carried 
away by man ; the contrary is true of the other, and the 
farmer who manures his land, only resorts to a simple 
operation of nature. 

The decomposed vegetable matter, when completely 
rotted, forms a light black mould, which is the very rich- 
est and best manure in the world ; and which, if used 



SOIL OF THE PRAIRIES. 97 

simply as such, would be prized by the European farmer, 
above every other substance, which is usually applied to 
that purpose. A soil of unrivalled fertility is thus formed, 
extending throughout the whole country, but differing in 
depth, according to circumstances. The light particles, 
of which it is composed, are easily washed by rains, from 
the higher into the lower grounds. The valleys thus re- 
ceive new supplies, in addition to that which their own 
vegetation affords, while the hills only retain the small 
portions which may be intercepted by the grass or fibrous 
roots, or by other accidental causes. On the low grounds, 
therefore, the stratum of mov/Id has been found to be, in 
some instances, twelve feet deep ; while on the hills, it is 
seldom more than a few inches. This process can, of 
course, only prevail in the hilly and timbered regions, to 
any extent ; and it is thus that those rich bottoms are 
created, which margin all the streams, and those fertile 
valleys, which astonish every beholder with the rankness 
and beauty of the vegetation that covers them. A differ- 
ent operation obtains upon the prairie, whose level surface 
is not washed by rains. Here the accumulation is con- 
tinual, though slow ; all that is gained is kept ; and tl\e 
diluvian plain is covered with a rich vegetable mould, 
which is always increasing in depth. 

It has been remarked, and there is no doubt of the fact, 
that the highest points of the prairie are invariably the 
richest ; a circumstance which cannot be readily account- 
ed for, unless we suppose that these lands are diluvial, 
and that those spots would be richest, at which the larg- 
est masses of diluvium were accumulated. It is easy to 
imagine the varieties which must occur, on these princi- 
ples, between the extremes which we have suggested. 
The exceptions are numerous and depend chiefly on the 
quality of the subsoil ; if too porous it absorbs the ferti- 
lizing juices ; if impervious to water, it retains too large 

I 



A^J^ 



98 EXPLANATIONS IN REGARD TO 

a proportion of that element on the surface, and forma 
what are called wet prairies. 

Having thrown out these hints, it is only necessary to 
add, briefly, that the soil is a rich black mould, containing 
an admixture of fine silicious sand. It is supposed to 
contain a portion of decomposed limestone, and is warm, 
quick, and lively. Its depth is as remarkable as its won- 
derful productiveness. 

We pass now to some points of immediate practical 
importance to the agricultural population of our valley, 
which have not been understood abroad. When the eye 
of the experienced farmer, roves for the first time over the 
prairies of the west, he is struck v/ith the dreariness of 
tlie prospect. That which is beautiful and picturesque 
to another, conveys no corresponding sensations to the 
mind of one who views it simply in relation to its capa- 
city for the support of man, and the business of life. The 
absence of timber, seems to him an evil without remedy, 
and in his judgment millions of acres appear destined to 
bloom in eternal wilderness. So obvious is this view of 
the case, that we frequently hear the remark, from judicious 
men, that but for the want of timber, the advantages of 
Illinois and Missouri, as agricultural states, would stand 
unrivalled. An attentive examination of this question in 
all its bearings, will shew that this conclusion is falla- 
cious, and that in fact, the supply of this indispersabb 
article, is as abundant at this time, as its future increase 
in quantity is certain. 

Yie have explained the manner in v/hich the forest and 
prairie are interspersed throughout our country, and have 
shown that the former is found skirting the shores of all 
our rivers, and smaller water courses. Such are the situ- 
ations,' as regards locality, in which the first inhabitants 
always choose to settle, for the. purpose of enjoying the 
united advantages of wood and water ; and the vicinity 
of navigable stream.s holds out other strong inducements. 



THE WANT OF TIMBER. 99 

The open prairies, or those parts of the country which 
are now destitute of timber, being invariably the most 
distant from living streams, would of course, as a general 
rule, be the last to be settled, even if all the surface was 
alike covered with wood. Such has been the actual pro- 
cess of settlement. The margins of the large rivers were 
first settled, the inhabitants tenaciously adhering to the 
rich bottom lands, in spite of their dampness and insalu- 
brity, and in defiance of the immense masses of heavy 
timber, which rendered the clearing of those lands a gigan- 
tic labor. ]More recently the prairie lands have acquired 
reputation, and the emigration has flowed towards the in- 
terior parts of the new states. But the settler, in forsak- 
ing the margins of the large rivers, pursues the meanders 
of the smaller streams, and selects his farm on the edge 
of a prairie, Avhcre he may enjoy the combined advantages 
of timber and plain. 

For the present population, the quantity of timber is 
amply sufficient ; and so small a portion of the timbered 
lands is yet occupied, as to justify the assertion that 
enough remains to supply all the inhabitants which these 
states may be reasonably expected to contain for the ne^ 
half century. There are exceptions to these state"" jser- 
instances in which settlements have spread o^ _.x entire 
prairie, and artificial means have been adopted for supply- 
ing the v/ant of wood ; but we shall show presently, that 
tliese cases go to prove the correctness of our views. We 
assume the positions, that at present the settlements are 
generally confined to the woodlands and adjoining prairies, 
where is found an abundant supply of timber ; and that a 
very small proportion, in comparison to the whole of the 
timbered lands, is thus occupied. The remainder stands 
open to new settlers, Mobile nature has made ample pro- 
vision for future generations. 

We have seen, moreover, that as the country becomes 
settled, the timber rapidly increases. We need not add 

l.ofC. 



100 EXPLANATIONS IN REGARD TO 

to what we have said on this point. We think that we 
have shown conclusively that there have been numberless 
instances in this, and other parts of our continent, in which 
forests' have grown up, within the memory of man, with- 
out the aid of any eflbrt of human ingenuity ; and we can 
imagine no reason why the same process should not con- 
tinue to be carried forward. On the contrary, we have 
seen this munificent operation of nature proceeding regu- 
larly through a long series of years ; and as we believe it 
to be the result of those immutable laws of nature, which 
pervade all ages and countries, we have no right to sup- 
pose that the future will not resemble the past. A care- 
ful examination of the subject must convince any rational 
mind, that there will always, during the whole process of 
the settlement of this wide region, be land enough reclaim- 
ed from prairie, and covered with timber, within each 
generation of inhabitants, to supply the increase of popu- 
lation which may have occurred during that time, until 
the whole country shall be thus supplied with a due pro- 
portion of wood. 

But we are met here with another consideration, which 
is worthy of notice. The question arises, whether the 
|y\ye of iarmers, now rising up in our country, will require 
timber in as large quantities as their predecessors. We 
reply that they certainly will not. Whenever an article 
is abundant, it will be used with profusion ; when scarce, 
economy will be practiced in its consumption. American 
farmers have been accustomed to reside in the vicinity, 
or in the bosom of immense forests, and to enjoy the use 
of wood without stint. Not only has it been unnecessary 
to economise in this article ; but every where in the 
United States, except latterly in a few districts, the 
desti'uction of timber has been a desirable object, and has 
constituted an unavoidable and laborious part of the busi- 
ness of the husbandman. Wood has therefore been used 
with prodigality, for all the purposes to which it is neces- 



THE WANT OF TIMBER. 101 

sarily applied ; while it has also been substituted in num- 
berless instances, for substances which, under other cir 
cumstances, would have been more suitable. Not to 
speak of wooden houses, bridges, and roads — of wood for 
fuel and fencing — we find it adopted in the west for pur- 
poses more anomalous, where wooden pins are substituted 
for nails, and wells are curbed with hollow logs, where 
the cabin door swinging on wooden hinges, is fastened 
with a wooden latch, and the smoke escapes through a 
wooden chimney. Engineers have proposed to substitute 
wood-work for masonry in the construction of railways 
and canal locks ; and it is said that an eminent lawyer in 
Missouri, had a very convenient office, made of a single 
section sawed from a hollow sycamore. Well may ours 
be called a wooden country ; not merely from the extent 
of its forests, but because in common use wood has been 
substituted for a number of the most necessary and com- 
mon articles — such as stone, iron, and even leather. 
Whenever, therefore, timber shall cease to be cheaper 
than the substances which might be used in its place, the 
demand for it will be proportionably diminished. 

There is still another view of this question, which is 
important. That which appears to the superficial obser- 
ver as a defect, is, in truth, one of the greatest sources 
of the prosperity of our country. The labor of clearing 
woodland, is the most arduous task to which the western 
farmer is subjected, and has constituted in itself, the 
greatest drawback to the rapid growth of the new states. 
Where the soil is rich, the timber is generally heavy ; 
and a lifetime is consumed in opening a farm. No one 
but a backwoodsman, accustomed to dwell in forests, to 
wield the axe, and to depend mainly upon his rifle for 
subsistence, is fitted for this herculean enterprise ; when 
undertaken by the husbandman from tlie eastern states, it 
has scarcely ever failed to produce the most disastrous 
consequences : bankruptcy, disease, disappointment, and 

i2 



ML. 



102 EXPLANATIONS IN REGARD TO 

death, have traced his footsteps, and poisoned his enjoy- 
ments. If the farmer is not sufficiently wealthy to hire 
laborers, a few acres only are annually reclaimed from 
the forest ; and even this is effected by the most laborious 
and painful drudgery. Years are consumed, and the in- 
dustrious settler, sees the prime of his manhood wasted, 
before he begins to reap the fruit of his labors. If the 
same operation is attempted to be performed by hired 
labor, the expense of clearing exceeds the value of the 
land when cleared ; while the stumps of the trees remain 
for many years, occupying a large portion of the ground, 
and greatly impeding the business of husbandry. In the 
mean while, nothing is added to the industry or trade of 
the country, because those who are engaged in clearing 
lands can make no produce for market. 

Nor is this all. The clearing of new lands, has always 
been found to be productive of diseases of the most ma- 
lignant character. The settler builds his cabin in the 
gloom of dense shadows. The vegetable deposit of ages 
is suddenly exposed to the glaring beams of the sun. 
Thousands of trees are levelled — large portions of which 
are left to rot on the ground. The air is filled with nox- 
ious exhalations ; and bilious fevers are the consequence. 

Far different is the case in our open country. The 
settler may always select, upon our prairies, land as fer- 
tile as the richest river bottoms ; and by settling in the 
edge of the timber, combine every advantage aflorded by 
the latter. He finds the land already cleared, and has 
only to enclose it. The labor of bringing it into culture 
is comparatively trifling. A heavy plough and a strong 
team is required the first year, to turn over the sod. The 
corn is dropped in the furrows, and covered with a hoe, 
and no other labor is bestowed upon it until it is fit to 
gather ; because during that year the crop cannot be 
tended in the ordinary way, as the sod, already bound 
together by the fibrous roots of the grass, is merely turned 



THE WANT OF TIMBER. 103 

over, and not pulverized so as to admit of tillage. But 
by turning the grass down, exposing the roots to the sun, 
and leaving the sod undisturbed, it becomes mellowed in 
one season, and while undergoing the process of decom- 
position affords nourishment to the growing corn. The 
crop thus raised is not abundant, nor the grain very 
good ; but something like half the ordinary crop is raised, 
which amply pays for the labor of planting and gathering. 
By the ensuing spring, the roots of the wild grass, are 
found to be completely rotted, and the plough is put into 
a rich, light mould, fit for all the purposes of husbandry. 
The ordinary operations of farming may now be conducted 
in the usual way ; and the labor of cultivating a light soil, 
unincumbered with rocks and stumps, is so trifling as to 
leave time for the farmer to improve his land and build- 
ings. The plough runs on a level plain of rich mould, 
and may be managed by a half-grown boy, as well as by 
the strongest ploughman. In timber lands, newly cleared, 
ploughing requires both strength and skill ; the plough 
must be sharpened frequently, and is often broken ; and 
at last the work goes on slowly. The difference in the 
greater facility of working prairie lands ; the saving in the 
wear of all implements of husbandry; the economy of 
time, and of course the greater degree of certainty in the 
farmer's calculations ; the enjoyment of health — are so 
great, as in our opinion, to outweigh any inconveniencb 
which can possibly be experienced in this country for the 
want of timber, even under the most unfavorable circum- 
stances. A farmer had better settle in the midst of a 
prairie, and haul his fuel and rails ^ye miles, than under- 
take to clear a farm in the forest. The farmers of Illinois 
are beo^innino^ to be aware of this fact ; and there are now 
many instances in which farmers, having purchased a 
small piece of land for timber, in the woodland, make 
their farms at a distance in the prairie. It is only neces- 
sary to make a nice calculation of the time consumed in 



104 THE WANT OF TIMBER. 

the transportation of wood for fuel and all other purposes 
and to observe how small a proportion it bears to the 
other labors of a farm, in order to satisfy any one who is . 
acquainted with the subject, that it is really a matter of no 
importance, when brought into competition with the ad- 
vantages of a prairie country. 

It is to be recollected, that the prodigal consumption 
of timber, which we now witness, will, in all probability, 
be diminishing annually, with the improvement of the 
country, and the introduction of a variety of substitutes 
for wood. People will not forever make worm fences, 
live in log cabins, and warm themselves by log-heaps 
built up in great wooden chimnies, which occupy nearly 
the whole gable end of a house. In an open champaigne 
country, it is not possible that the planting of hedges can 
be long delayed. If they can be used with advantage in 
any country, they certainly will succeed in ours. The 
climate is well adapted to the English white thorn ; and 
we have several indigenous thorns which are admirably 
suited to the purpose. The conformation of the country, 
and its fertility, renders it easy to plant, to cultivate, to 
protect, and to perpetuate the hedge ; and every circum- 
stance combines to recommend this mode of enclosure. 
In the greater part of the prairie region, building stone 
cinnot be had; but in such places, brick may always be 
substituted by those who wish to build good houses. The 
stratum of clay which is found under our soil, is well 
suited for brick-making, and in most places can be ob- 
tained, by removing the light covering of loam which 
forms the surface. As for fuel, there is no difficulty. No 
part of this country has been explored, in which coal does 
not abound ; that is to say, there is no extensive district 
without it ; it is found in the broken lands, and bluff 
banks of all our larger water courses, and though seldom 
met with within the area of a prairie, it abounds on the 
borders of all the streams which meander amonff these 



THE PRAIRIES WATER. 105 

plains. That it has not been brought into use, at all, is 
a proof of what we have asserted, viz. that wood is abun- 
dant. Whenever the farmer shall discover that his forest 
trees have become sufficiently valuable to be worth pre- 
serving, he will have recourse to those inexhaustible 
stores of fuel which Nature has treasured up in the bow 
els of the earth ; his fields will be enclosed with hedges ,* 
the axe will cease its wanton devastation ; the demand 
for timber, and the quantity, will regulate each other ; and 
men will learn to believe the obvious truth, that there 
never need be a scarcity of that, which can be preserved 
by care, and produced by industry. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Prairies — their destitution of water explained. 

In a practical point of view the absence of water is also 
a serious objection to the prairie region. No spring 
bursts out upon these plains. This is a truism ; for 
wherever a stream, however small, trickles over the sur- 
face, the soil thus moistened becomes covered with timber. 
The prairie, therefore, is precisely that part of the whole 
country, which is destitute of living streams upon its sur- 
face. And when it is recollected that the greater part of 
Illinois, Missouri, and the territory lying north, west, and 
south of these states, is prairie, over which the eye of the 
traveler may rove for miles, without discovering a shrub 
or tree, it will be readily seen that the absence of water 
must be great. 

It is true, that there is a dearth of water upon the sur- 
face. In the summer especially, the traveler may ride a 
whole day without finding a rivulet, or even a standing 



106 THE PRAIRIES WATER. 

pool at wliicli he may water his horse ; and those who 
traverse the unsettled parts of the country, complain of 
this as one of the greatest inconveniences of the journey. 
On the other hand, it is a fact equally well ascertained, 
that water is every where found, in great abundance, at a 
distance of a few feet below the surface. We have known 
but a very few spots at which water could not be procured 
by digging ; there are few countries in which the sinking 
of wells is performed with so much ease, or with such 
uniform success. There is, in general, no rock to per- 
forate ; after removing the rich soil, a stratum of hard 
clay presents itself, then gravel, and then another layer 
of clay, all of which are so compact as to require no 
curbing^ during the progress of the operation. Tlie water 
is found in a stratum of line clean sand. The depth of 
the v/ells varies from twelve to forty feet, but most usu- 
ally is from eighteen to twenty-five ; it very seldom varies 
much from twenty feet. 

There is therefore, in fact, no dearth of water. It is 
present in great abundance, but not in the position most 
desirable to the farmer, who, if settled at a distance from 
the woodland, must adopt some artificial mode of supply- 
ing liis stock, with this indispensable article. At present 
this want is not felt as an existing evil ; and we think it 
will not become a subject of complaint for many years, 
for the same reason which we suo-c^ested in relation to 
timber. The present inhabitants of the prairie region, 
are settled in situations amply supplied with water, and 
there is still a great abundance of choice land remaining 
vacant, on the margins of the rivers and smaller water 
courses, to accommodate several generations of new set- 
tlers. It is Avorthy of remark also, that the practice of 
suffering cattle and other stock to roam at large over the 
natural pastures, which now prevails universally, and 
must long continue to be pursued, renders this rather an 
imaginary want, than one of practical inconvenienci? 



"WET PRAIRIES. 107 

The family is supplied, either by a spring or well, with a 
sufficient quantity of good water for household purposes, 
and for work-horses ; while the animals which seek their 
own food on the wild lands, roam off to the streams which 
are more or less distant. But the open prairie lands pos- 
sess some advantages, which will go far towards counter- 
balancing this deficiency. These, as we have remarked, 
are their great fertility, the ease with which they may be 
brought into cultivation, and the lightness of the soil, 
which renders the tillage less laborious than that of other 
lands. To these may be added, the facility of making 
good roads, in consequence of the levelness of the coun- 
try, and the dryness of the soil, — and the remarkable 
adaptation of this whole region for internal communica- 
tion by railroads and canals. 

A great mistake has been made by travelers, and adopt- 
ed by the compilers of books, in reference to ivet prairies, 
which they suppose to exist to a much greater extent 
than is true. Taking it for granted that the prairie region 
is a vast plain, they infer prima facie, that the water 
which falls from the clouds, is slowly drained off, and 
remains long on the ground, constituting extensive pools 
and marshes. But the truth is, that the surface is undu- 
lating, and that the process of draining has, in the lapse 
of ages, gradually worn down the edges of the plains 
nearest to the water-courses, so that the centre is in most 
cases the highest. This conformation is not invariable : 
there are prairies which are level, and upon others, even 
the most elevated, will be found depressions, from which 
the water is not drained. Taking into view these excep- 
tions to the general rule, and considering them as charac- 
teristic features in the topography of the country, a writer, 
otherwise accurate, has said that " most of our large prai- 
ries are so nearly level, or slightly concave in the centre, 
as to render many places wet, and others inundated." A 
country of which this remark should be true would be 



tttku. 



108 WET PRAIRIES. 

scarcely habitable. As well might the writer deny the 
convexity of the globe, because there are valleys upon its 
surface, as to deny the same general shape to the prairies, 
because in the almost imperceptible undulations of their 
outline, the latter sometimes assumes for a short distance 
tlie appearance of an exact plane, and sometimes sinks 
into a hollow. The idea is contrary to the analogy of 
nature, for the natural drainage of a country, will leave 
those parts most elevated which lie at the greatest distance 
from the rivers or valleys into which the rains flovv ofl* 
from the surface. In a region of rock formation, this ef- 
fect will be modified by other causes ; but on plains of 
light soil, resting on clay and gravel easily worn by the 
attrition of water, its operation is obvious and uniform. 

In the spring of the year, or at any other season when 
rain has fallen copiously, the light and porous soil of the 
prairie becomes saturated with water, and as the process 
of draining cannot be carried forward rapidly, in a country 
so nearly level, the whole land seems almost inundated. 
The slope of the entire plain of the west, has been shown 
to be gentle ; the channels of its rivers have but little 
declination, and carry off their waters slowly. The 
smaller water courses, by the same law, have but little 
fall ; they are therefore soon filled to overflowing. Creeks 
assume the appearance of rivers — brooks are filled to their 
brinks — the ravines in the prairies, dry at other seasons, 
become the channels of immense floods, which slowly 
flow off" with an almost imperceptible motion. The whole 
land is like a saturated sponge. But whenever the waters 
subside, the porousness of the soil, and the rapidity of the 
evaporation in so open a country, produce the effect of 
drying the soil with remarkable celerity. 

The objection to the prairie region, is not excess of 
moisture either in the soil or climate ; the opposite, if it 
be an objection, is that which might be alledged with 
more propriety. It is a country of boundless plains, ac 



WET PRAIRIES. 109 

cessible to tlie winds from every direction — but little sha- 
ded by timber — and having a small proportion of springs 
Oi' running streams of water. Early in the summer all 
the streams except the largest, are dried up ; the traveler 
is astonished as he passes over deep channels, perfectly 
dry, to see, by the marks of water above his head, that 
immense floods have recently filled them to overflowing, 
and at findino^ in tlie beds of rivers of soundinor name, in 
which for months together a ship of the line might float, 
rivulets almost exhausted, over which he could jump at a 
single bound. 

Wet prairies occur where the surface of the plain is 
perfectly level, or slightly concave. A very small pro- 
portion of the whole country is comprised within this de- 
scription ; and all of it may be easily drained. We have 
scarcely ever seen a prairie from which the standing water 
might not be conveyed by a ditch a few feet in depth. 
They are not sufliciently extensive to produce any effect 
upon the atmosphere ; and as the waters are rapidly 
evaporated, they become dry in the early part of the sum- 
mer, and are covered like the other lands with grass ; so 
that they do not generate miasma in any quantity which 
can perceptibly effect the salubrity of the air. 

The quality of the water in the interior, or prairie re- 
gion, is often made a subject of complaint by travelers. 
The reason is obvious. The first settlers in a new coun- 
try, and ti:ose who keep the houses of entertainment at 
which travelers stop, are pei-sons who care little for the 
luxuries of life, and who have been accustomed to the use 
of spring water. They know little, and care less, about 
the art of procuring the pure element by means of artificial 
wells. When obliged to resort to this method of getting 
water, they consider it a matter of importance to find it 
as near the surface as possible, or rather, if they do not 
find it after digging a few feet, they desist and seek it at 
another spot ; and choice of a place at which to reside, 

K 



110 WILD ANIMALS. 

depends on the finding of water at the depth of twelve ot 
fifteen feet. The well is often so shallow that the water 
may be warmed by the action of the sun. It is curbed 
with green wood, from which sometimes the bark is not 
removed — or more frequently with a hollow log termed a 
gum — which is constantly decaying and imparting a bad 
taste to the water ; vv^hile no pains are taken to remove 
the leaves and woody fibre which are continually falling 
into it. When wells are properly dug, and walled v.'ith 
stone or brick, the water is generally pure and excellent ; 
nor can we conceive how it could be otherwise, passing, 
as it almost invariably does, through a stratum of fine 
clean sand. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Wild Animals. 



There are several works on natural history, which 
accurately describe tlie animals of this region. In orni- 
thology especially, the labors of Wilson, Nuttal, and 
Buonaparte, have left no room for additional remarks. 
W^e shall confine ourselves to a few desultory hints relat- 
ing to the settled parts of the country. 

The buffalo has entirely left the inhabited districts. 
Before the country vras settled our immense prairies af- 
forded pasturage to large herds of this animal ; and the 
traces of them are still remaining, in the " buffalo paths" 
which are to be seen in several parts of the new states. 
These are well beaten tracts, leading generally from the 
prairies in the interior, to the margins of the large rivers ; 
shewing the course of their migrations as they changed 
iheir pastures periodically, from the low marshy alluvion, 
to the dry upland plains. In the heat of summer they 



WILD ANIMALS. Ill 

would be driven from the latter by prairie flies, in the 
autumn they would be expelled from the former by the 
musquitoes ; in the spring the grass of the plains would 
afl'ord abundant pasturage, while the herds could enjoy 
the warmth of the sun, and snuff the breeze that sweeps 
so freely over them ; in the winter the rich cane of the 
river banks, which is an evergreen, would furnish food, 
Avhile the low grounds thickly covered with brush and 
forest, would afl'ord protection from the bleak winds. I 
know few subjects more interesting than migration of wild 
animals, connecting as it does the singular displays of 
brute instinct, with a wonderful exhibition of the various 
supplies which nature has provided for the support of 
animal life, under an endless variety of circumstances. 
These paths are narrow, and remarkably direct, shewing 
that the animals traveled in single file through the woods, 
and pursued the most direct course to their places of 
destination. 

Deer are more abundant in some places than at the first 
settlement of the country. They increase, to a certain 
extent, with the population. The reason of this appears 
to be, that they find protection in the neighborhood of 
man, from the beasts of prey that assail them in the Avil- 
derness, and from wh.ose attacks their young particularly 
can with difliculty escape. They suffer most from the 
wolves, Vv^ho hunt in packs like hounds, and wlio seldom 
give up the chace until a deer is taken. We have often 
sate on a moonlight summer night, at the door of a log 
cabin on one of our prairies, and heard the wolves in full 
chace of a deer, yelling very nearly in the same manner 
as a pack of hounds. Sometimes the cry w^ould be heard 
at a great distance over the plain ; then it would die away, 
and again be distinguished at a nearer point, and in another 
direction — nov/ the full cry would burst upon us from a 
neighboring thicket, and we could almost hear the sobs 
of the exhausted deer, and again it would be borne away 



^iwitikv 



112 WILD ANIMALS. 

and lost in distance. We have passed nearly whole nights 
in listening to such sounds, and once we saw a deer dash 
through the yard, and immediately past the door at which 
we sate, followed by his audacious pursuers, who were 
but a few yards in his rear. 

Immense num.bers of deer are killed every year by our 
hunters, who take them for the hams and skins alone, 
throwing away the rest of the carcass. Venison hams 
and hides are important articles of export. The former 
are purchased from the hunters at 25 cents a pair, the 
latter at 20 cents a pound. In the villages of Illinois and 
Missouri we purchase, for our tables, the saddle of venison 
with the hams attached, for STs cents, which would be 
something like one cent a pound. 

There are several ways of hunting deer, all of which 
are equally simple. Most generally the hunter proceeds 
to the woods on horseback, in the day time, selecting 
carefully certain hours, which are thought to be most 
favorable. It is said that during the seasons when the 
pastures are green, this animal rises from his lair, precise- 
ly at the rising of the moon, whether in the day or night ; 
and I suppose the fact to be so, because such is the testi- 
mony of experienced hunters. If it be true, it is certainly 
a curious display of animal instinct. This hour therefore 
is always kept in view by the hunter, as he rides slowly 
through the forest, with his rifle on his shoulder, while 
his keen eye penetrates the surrounding shades. On be- 
holding a deer the hunter slides from his horse, and while 
the deer is observing the latter, creeps upon him, keeping 
the largest trees between himself and the object of pur- 
suit, until he gets near enough to fire. An expert woods- 
man seldom fails to hit his game. It is extremely danger- 
ous to approach a wounded deer. Timid and harmless 
as this animal is at other times, he no sooner finds him- 
self deprived of the power of flight than he becomes furi- 
ous, and rushes upon his enemy making desperate lunges 



WILD ANIMALS. 113 

with his sharp horns, and striking and tramping violently 
with his forelegs, which being extremely muscular and 
armed with sharp hoofs, are capable of inflicting very 
severe wounds. Aware of this circumstance, the hunter 
approaches him with caution, and either secures his prey 
by a second shot, where the first has been but partially 
successful, or, as is more frequently the case, causes his 
dog to seize the wounded animal, while he watches his 
own opportunity to stab him \vith his hunting knife. 
Sometimes, where a noble buck is the victim, and the 
hunter is impatient or inexperienced, terrible conflicts en 
sue on such occasions. 

Another mode, is to watch at night, in the neighbor- 
hood of the salt licks. These are spots where the earth 
is impregnated with saline particles, or where the salt 
water oozes through the soil. Deer and other grazing 
animals frequent such places, and remain for hours licking 
the earth. The hunter secretes himself here, either in 
the thick top of a tree, or most generally in a screen 
erected for the purpose, and artfully concealed like a 
masked battery, with logs or green boughs. This prac- 
tice is pursued only in the summer, or early in the au- 
tumn, in cloudless nights, when the moon shines brilliant- 
ly, and objects maybe readily discovered. At the rising 
of the moon or shortly after, the deer having risen from 
their beds, approach the lick. Such places are generally" 
denuded of timber, but surrounded by it, and as the ani- 
mal is about to emerge from the shade into the clear moon- 
light, he stops, looks cautiously around, and snuffs the 
air. Then he advances a few steps, and stops again, 
smells the ground, or raises his expanded nostrils, as if 
he " snuffed the approach of danger in every tainted 
breeze." The hunter sits motionless, and almost breath- 
less, waiting until the animal shall get within rifle shot, 
and until its position in relation to the hunter, and the 
light, shall be favorable, when he fires with an unerring 

k2 



114 WILD ANIMALS. 

aim. A few deer only can bt.' thus taken in one night, 
and after a few nights these timorous animals are driven 
from tlie haunts which are thus disturbed. 

Another practice is called driving, and is only practised 
in those parts of the country where this kind of game is 
scarce, and where hunting is pursued as an amusement. 
A large party is made up, and the hunters ride forth with 
fieir dogs. The hunting ground is selected, and as it ia 
pretty well knov/n what tracks are usually taken by the 
deer when started, an individual is placed at each of those 
passes, to intercept the retreating animal. The scene of 
action being thus in some measure, surrounded, small 
parties advance with the dogs from different directions, 
and the startled deer in flying most generally pass some 
of the persons who are concealed, and who fire at them 
as they pass. 

The elk, has disappeared. A few have been seen in 
late years, and some taken ; but it is not known that any 
remain at this time, within the limits of any of the states. 

The bear is seldom seen. This animal inhabits those 
parts of the country that are thickly wooded, and delights 
particularly in canebrakes, where it feeds in the winter 
on the tender shoots of the young cane. The meat is 
tender and finely flavored, and is esteemed a great delicacy. 

Wolves are very numerous in every part of the western 
country. There are two kinds ; the common, or black 
wolf, and the prairie wolf. The former is a large fierce 
animal, and very destructive to sheep, pigs, calves, poul- 
try, and even young colts. They hunt in large packs, 
and after using every stratagem to circumvent their prey, 
attack it with remarkable ferocity. Like the Indian, they 
always endeavor to surprise their victim, and strike the 
mortal blow .without exposing themselves to danger. 
They seldom attack man, except when asleep or v/ound- 
ed. The largest animals, when wounded, entangled, or 
otherwise disabled, become their prey; but in general 



WILD ANIMALS. 115 

they only attack such as are incapable of resistance. They 
have been known to lie in wait upon the bank of a stream 
which the bufialo were in the habit of crossing, and when 
one of those unwieldy animals was so unfortunate as to 
sink in the mire, spring suddenly upon it, and worry it 
to death, while thus disabled from resistance. Their most 
common prey is the deer, which they hunt regularly ; but 
all defenceless animals are alike acceptable to their raven- 
ous appetites. When tempted by hunger they approach 
the farm houses in the night, and snatch their prey from 
under the very eye of the farmer ; and when the latter is 
absent with his dogs, the wolf is sometimes seen by the 
females lurking about in mid-day, as if aware of the un- 
protected state of the family. Our heroic females have 
sometimes shot them under such circumstances. 

It is said by hunters that the smell of burning assafcetida 
has a remarkable effect upon this animal. If a lire be 
made in the v.-oods, and a portion of this drug thrown 
into it, so as to saturate the atmosphere witli the odor, 
the wolves, if any are within reach of the scent, immedi- 
ately assemble around, howling in the most mournful 
manner, and such is the remarkable fascination under which 
they seem to labor, that they will often suffer themselves 
to be shot down rather than quit the spot. 

Of the few instances of their attacking human beings, 
of which we have heard, the following may serve to give 
some idea of their habits. In very early times, a negro 
man was passing in the night, in the lower part of Ken- 
tucky, from one settlement to another. The distance 
was several miles, and the country over which he travel- 
ed entirely unsettled. In the morning his carcass was 
found entirely stripped of llesh. Near it lay his axe, 
covered with blood, and all around the bushes were beaten 
down, the ground trodden, and the number of foot tracks 
so great, as to shew that the unfortunate victim had fought 
long and manfully. On pursuing his track it appeared 



1 16 WILD ANIMALS. 

that the wolves had pursued him for a considerable dis 
tance, he had often turned upon them and driven them 
back. Several times they had attacked him, and been 
repelled, as appeared by the blood and tracks. He had 
killed some of them, before the final onset, and in the last 
conflict had destroyed several. His axe was his only 
weapon. 

On another occasion, many years ago, a negro man 
was going through the woods, with no companion but his 
fiddle, when he discovered that a pack of w^olves were on 
his track. They pursued very cautiously, but a few of 
them would sometimes dash up, and growl, as if impatient 
for their prey, and then fall back again. As he had sev- 
eral miles to go, he became much alarmed. He some- 
times stopped, shouted, drove back his pursuers, and then 
proceeded. The animals became more and more auda- 
cious, and would probably have attacked him, had he not 
arrived at a deserted cabin, which stood by the way side 
Into this he nished for shelter, and without waiting to 
shut the door, climbed up and seated himself on the rafters 
The wolves dashed in after him, and becoming quite furr 
ous, howled, and leaped, and endeavored with every ex- 
pression of rage to get to liim. The moon was now shin* 
ing briglidy, and Cuff" being able to see his enemies, and 
satisfied of his own safety, began to act on the offensive. 
Findinof the cabin full of them, he crawled down to the 
top of the door, which he shut and fastened. Then re- 
moving some of the loose boards from the roof, scattered 
them with a tremendous clatter upon such of his foes as 
remained outside, who soon scampered off, while those 
in the house began to crouch with fear. He had now a 
large number of prisoners to stand guard over, until morn- 
ing; and drawing forth his fiddle, he very good naturedly 
played for them all night, very much, as he supposed, to 
their edification and amusement, for like all genuine lovers 
of music, he imagined that it had power to soften the 



I 



WILD ANIMALS. 117 

heart, even of a wolf. On the ensuing day, some of the 
neighbors assembled and destroyed the captives, with 
great rejoicings. 

The story of Putnam and the wolf is familiar to every 
schoolboy ; but it is not so well known, that such adven- 
tures are by no means uncommon. The youthful achieve- 
ment of the gallant revolutionary hero, has acquired dig- 
nity from the brilliancy of his after life, which was adorn- 
ed with a long list of heroic and patriotic deeds, v/hen in 
fact this exploit is one of ordinary occurrence among our 
resolute hunters. We select the following two instances, 
both of which are well authenticated. 

Many years ago, a Frenchman, with his son, was hunt- 
ing in a part of Missouri, distant about forty miles from 
St. Louis. Having wounded a large bear, the animal 
took refuge in a cave, the aperture leading into which, 
was so small as barely to admit its passage. The hunter, 
leaving his son without, instantly prepared to follow, and 
with some difficulty drew his body through the narrow 
entrance. Having reached the interior of the cave, he 
discharged his piece with so true an aim as to inflict a 
mortal wound upon the bear. The latter rushed forward, 
and passing the man, attempted to escape from the cave, 
but on reaching the narrowest part of the passage, through 
which it had entered with some difficulty, the strength of 
the animal failed, and it expired. The entrance to the 
cave was now completely closed by the carcass of the 
animal. The boy on the outside, heard his father scream 
for assistance, and attempted to drag out the bear, but 
found his strength insufficient. After many unavailing 
efforts, he became much terrified, and mounted his father's 
horse with the determination of seeking assistance. There 
was no road through the wilderness, but the sagacious 
horse, taking the direction to St. Louis, carried the alarm- 
ed youth to that place, where a party was soon raised 
and despatched to the relief of the hunter. But they 



118 WILD ANIMALS. 

searched in vain for the place of his captivity. From 
some cause not now recollected, the trace of the horse was 
obliterated, and the boy in his agitation, had so far for- 
gotten the landmarks as to be totally unable to lead them 
to the spot. They returned after a weary and unsuccess- 
ful search ; the hunter was heard of no more, and no 
doubt remained of his having perished miserably in the 
cive. Some years afterwards, the aperture of the cavern 
was discovered, in a spot so hidden and so difficult of ac- 
cess as to have escaped the notice of those who had pass- 
ed near it. Near the mouth was found the skeleton of 
the bear, and within the cave, that of the Frenchman, 
with his gun and equipments, all apparently in the same 
condition as when he died. That he should have perish- 
ed of hunger, from mere inability to effect his escape by 
removing the body of the bear, seems improbable, because 
supposing him to have been unable by main strength to 
effect this oljject, it would have cost him but little labor 
to have cut up and removed the animal by piecemeal. It 
is most likely either that he was suffocated, or that he 
had received some injury, which disabled him from exer- 
tion. The cave bears a name which commemorates the 
event. 

The other circumstance to v/hich we allude, occurred 
in Monroe county, in Illinois. There are in many parts 
of this country, singular depressions or basins, v/hich the 
inhabitants call sink-holes. They are sometimes very 
deep, circular at the top, with steep sides meeting in a 
point at the bottom, precisely in the shape of a funnel. 
At the bottom of one of these, a party of hunters discov 
ered the den of a she wolf, and ascertained that it contained 
a litter of whelps. For the purpose of destroying the latter, 
they assembled at the place. On examining the entrance 
to the den, it was found to be perpendicular, and so nar- 
row as to render it impossible or very difficult for a man 
to enter ; and as a notion prevails among the hunters, that 



WILD ANIMALS. 119 

the female wolf only visits her young at night, it was 
proposed to send in a boy to destroy the whelps. A fine, 
courageous boy, armed with a knife, was accordingly 
tlirust into the cavern, where, to 'his surprise, he found 
himself in the company of the she wolf, whose glistening 
eye-balls, white teeth, and surly voice, sufficiently an- 
nounced her presence. The boy retreated towards the 
entrance, and called to his friends, to inform them tha 
the old wolf was there. The men told him that he was 
mistaken ; that the old wolf never staid with her young 
in daylight ; and advised him to go boldly up to the bed 
and destroy the litter. The boy thinking that the dark- 
ness of the cave might have deceived him, returned, 
advanced boldly, and laid his hand upon the sl;e wolf, 
who sprang upon him, and bit him very severely, before 
he could effect his retreat, and would probably have killed 
him, had he not defended himself with resolution. One 
or two of the men now succeeded in efTecting an entrance ; 
the wolf v.'as shot, and her offspring destroyed. 

The prairie wolf, is a smaller species, M-hich takes its 
name from the habit of residing entirely upon the open 
plains. Even v.'hen liuntcd Vvilh dogs, it will make cir- 
cuit after circuit, round the prairie, carefully avoiding the 
forest, or only dashing into it occasionally when hard 
pressed, and then returning to the plain. In size and ap- 
pearance, this animal is midway between the wolf and the 
fox, and in color it resembles the latter, being of a very 
light red. It preys upon poultry, rabbits, young pigs, 
calves, &c. The most friendly relations subsist between 
this animal and the common wolf, and tliey constantly 
hunt in packs together. Nothing is more common than 
to see tlie large black wolf in company with several of 
the prairie v/olves. The latter resembles the jackall of 
Asia, and if not the same animal, is a variety but little dis- 
tinguished from it. The prairie wolf is timid, and seldom 
approaches a farm house at which dogs are kept. They 



120 WILD ANIMALS. 

are said to have a particular aversion to the yell of the 
hound, and to disappear entirely from a neighborhood 
where a pack is kept for hunting. 

Some years ago an agricultural society established at 
the seat of government of Illinois, offered a large premium 
to the person who should kill the greatest number of 
wolves in one year. The legislature at the same time 
ffered a bounty for each wolf scalp that should be taken. 
The consequence was that the expenditure for wolf scalps 
became so great, as to render it necessary to repeal the 
law. These animals, although still numerous, and trouble- 
some to the farmer, are greatly decreased in number, and 
are no longer dangerous to man. We know of no in- 
stances in late years, of a human being having been 
attacked by them. 

We have the fox, in some places in great numbers; 
though generally speaking I think the animal is scarce. 
It will undoubtedly increase with the population. 

The panther and wild-cat, are found in our forests. 
Our open country is not, however, well suited to their 
shy habits ; and they are not now numerous even in the 
wooded country. 

The beaver and otter, were once numerous, but are 
/low seldom seen except on our frontiers. 

The gopher, is as we suppose, a nondescript. The 
name does not occur in books of natural history, nor do 
we find any animal of a corresponding description. The 
only account that we have seen of it, is in " Long's 2d 
Expedition." In a residence of many years in the coun- 
try where it is said to have been most numerous, we have 
never seen one near enough to examine it, and to be cer- 
tain that it was not something else. That such an animal 
exists is doubtless. But they are very shy and their 
numbers small. They burrow in the earth, and are sup- 
posed to throw up those hillocks which are seen in such 
vast abundance over our prairies. This is to some extent a 



WILD ANIMALS. 121 

mistake, for we know that many of these little mounds 
are thrown up by craw-fish, and by ants. 

The polecat is very destructive to our poultry. 

The racoon, and opossum are numerous, and extreme- 
ly troublesome to the farmer, as they not only at- 
tack his poultry, but plunder his cornfields. They are 
hunted by boys, and large numbers of them destroyed. 
The skins of the racoons pay well for the trouble of 
taking them, as the fur is in demand. 

Rabbits are abundant, and in some places extremely 
destructive to the young orchards, and to garden vegetables. 

The black and grey squirrels are very abundant. These 
beautiful, but destructive little animals, were very annoy- 
ing to the first settlers, by devouring large quantities of 
their corn in the fields, before it was sufficiently ripe to 
be gathered. One peculiarity in the history of this ani- 
mal is very remarkable. Sometimes, in the course of a 
few years, they become so numerous in one section of 
country, as to threaten destruction to the entire crops ; 
when, as if by common consent they commence an emi- 
gration, which is usually from west to east, in bodies so 
numsrous as to defy any attempt at computation, crossing 
the largest rivers that lie in their course. Many perish 
by drowning, and thousands are killed by the boys, who 
crowd to the shores, to intercept the weary and breath- 
less emigrants at their landing. At the commencement 
of their march they are very fat ; but towards its conclu- 
sion they become poor and sickly. After such an event 
they are scarce for several years, then multiply, emigrate, 
and perish as before. The cause of this phenomenon has 
never been explained. It cannot be want of food, for the 
districts they leave are often as fruitful, as those to which 
they direct their course, and the healthy condition in 
which they set out, leaves no room to suppose that the 
danger of starvation has driven them from home. Our 
hunters shoot these small animals with rifles, bringing 

L 



i 



123 BIRDS. 

them dov/n from the tops of the tallest trees, with a single 
ball; and when their depredations become great, large 
parties are foriiied, which scoiii the woods, killing thou- 
sands in a day. 

In return for the animals which have left us, we have 
gained a great number by emigration, which w^ere not 
known to inhabit this region at its first settlement. 

The honey bees are not natives of this country, but 
they have always kept a little in advance of the white 
man, and while they continue numerous in the settle- 
ments are particularly so upon the frontier. On the 
verge of civilization, bee-hunting furnishes employment 
to many individuals during several months of the year ; 
and the tables of all the farmers are amply supplied with 
the rich treasures of the laborious insect. Honey and 
beeswax are among the staples of all the new states. 

Rats were not knowm in this country, for many years 
after its settlement. They were first brought, by the 
boats, to the villages on the shores of the navigable rivers, 
and gradually spread over the interior. 

Birds of song- but seldom enliven the o-loomv monotony 
of th3 forest. Few, if any, of these, are carnivorous, and 
it is not until the labor of the farmer has covered the soil 
with fields of grain, that the cheerful notes of the songster 
are heard. We have now a great variety of singing birds, 
which have rapidly followed the population from the 
other side of the mountains. 

Of birds, that which is most peculiar to this country, 
as well as most numerous, is the prairie fowl, or grouse. 
It is nearly as large as the common hen. The flesh is 
delicate and finely flavored. The female resembles the 
quail in shape and color, and the male, who erects his 
plumage and struts like the turkey and peacock, is chiefly 
distinguished by a tuft of feathers on the head, and a 
tail longer and more ornamented than that of his mate. 
Their only note is a low, strong, melancholy sound, re- 



BIRDS. 123 

sembling the cooing of the dove, which may be heard at 
a considerable distance ; and the traveler in passing over 
the prairie at sunrise, hears this singular noise in every 
direction, and if unacquainted with its source, is at a loss 
whether to attribute it to a numerous colony of doves, of 
owls, or of tremendous bull frogs, for it partakes of the 
tone of each of these animals. 

The prairie fowl are seldom seen in the woods, but con- 
fine themselves chiefly to the long grass of the plains, 
scarcely ever rising on the wing, except when disturbed. 
In the autumn they assemble round the cornfields and 
wheat-stacks in search of food, and in the winter venture 
into the barn yards. They do not at any time evince 
much shyness towards man, and may often be seen 
mingling with the domestic fowls, when the farmer's 
dwelling happens to be situated on an unfrequented part 
of the prairie. They are easily shot sitting or on the 
wing ; and are taken in great numbers in traps. When 
the prairies are covered with snow they settle in large 
flocks on the trees. The writer has seen thousands of 
them together on such occasions. They eat freely, and 
fatten, when confined in coops, and could probably be 
domesticated with little difiiculty. 

Quails are numerous. These are often taken by driv- 
ing them into a long cylindrical net, distended by hoops, 
one end of which is open, and the other closed. The 
net is laid at its length along the ground, with the open 
end against a heap of brush, or in a little thicket, and the 
skill of the drivers, who are usually mounted on horse- 
back, is shewn in forcing the birds to enter it. 

There are pheasants in some parts of this country, but 
they are seldom seen. 

A few years ago the beautiful and majestic swan might 
be seen floating upon all our rivers, but they are now 
found only in secluded situations. 

Geese, ducks, cranes, and other water fowl frequent 



^«. 



124 



REPTILES. 



our streams in prodigious numbers. Great quantities of 
them are killed for the feathers, which constitute a con- 
siderable article of traffic. 

The yellow plover frequents the prairies in the spring 
in immense flocks, and a nice little bird it is, graceful to 
shoot at, and very delicious to swallow. 

Wild turkeys are still abundant. They are shy and 
difficult to shoot, but our hunters kill great numbers of 
them. In the spring they are found in pairs, but during 
the rest of the year in flocks consisting of the old pair, 
and the last brood. Fine turkeys may be bought from 
the hunters for twelve and a half cents a piece. 

We have the mocking bird, the Baltimore bird, the 
red bird, the blue jay, the humming bird, and indeed, 
most of the feathered tribes which are known in the At- 
lantic states ; with the addition of the paroquet, a bird 
of benutiful plumage, but very bad character, whose 
thievidi propensities renders him a gi-eat nuisance to or- 
chards and cornfields. 

I have never seen any of those jAgeonroosfs, which 
have excited so much curiosity, and where these birds 
are said to alight in such quantities as to break down the 
limbs of the trees. 

Of reptiles the most formidable is the rattlesnake. 
This animal is most usually found in mountainous situa- 
tions, where the dens among the rocks afl'ord them secure 
harbors ; of course our plains, entirely destitute of rock 
and aff'ording no suitable retreats for such reptiles, do not 
abound in them. The fires which annually spread over 
the prairies, doubtless destroy great numbers of them ; 
the hogs which in this country are allowed to roam at 
large in great herds, are their inveterate enemies, and 
probably devour many. We have also the moccasin 
snake, and copperhead, both of which are very venom- 
ous ; but we are inclined to think that in general snakes 
are not numerous. 



^ 



REPTILES. 125 

Two instances occurred some years ago, in which 
death was occasioned by the bite of the spider, and the 
belief became current that a peculiarly venomous variety 
of that reptile existed among us. I have inquired care- 
fully into both these cases, without finding the slightest 
evidence to support that supposition. One of the per- 
sons bitten was a young lady. She was not attended by a 
physician, nor are the facts of her case correctly understood. 
No inference can therefore be drawn from it. The other 
was a man who was ploughing in his field, on a very 
hot day, when feeling himself bitten on the arm, he sud- 
denly struck the place with his open hand and crushed a 
large spider, which doubtless had inflicted the wound. 
It swelled rapidly, and the man alarmed ran home, and 
sent for a physician, wdio arrived in about four hours, and 
shortly after, the death of the patient ensued. I did not 
converse with the physician, but a medical friend who 
spoke with him on the subject, suggests the following 
facts : that the system of the patient was in a state that 
predisposed to inflammation — that the sting touched an 
irritable part — that the w^eather was extremely hot and 
the man heated by labor — and that his alarm and the vio- 
lent exertion of running to his house, a considerable dis- 
tance, added to the action of the other causes, and gave 
/irulence to the poison, which under more favorable cir- 
cumstances would only have occasioned a slight wound. 
The writer was once very seriously ill for several days 
from the sting of a bee, under similar circumstances. 
There have been instances in which the sting of the latter 
insect has occasioned death. Our inference is that the 
two cases above mentioned, do not furnish any evidence 
of the existence in this country of a variety of the spider 
whose bite is ordinarily attended with dangerous conse- 
quences. 

L 2 



126 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

CHAPTER X. 

Agricultural Products. 

The following remarks must be understood as apply- 
ing to the state of Illinois, unless where other places are 
hidicated. The writer's personal knowledge is confined 
chiefly to that region. The intelligent agriculturalist will 
easily apply the remarks to other sections of the country, 
making the due allowance for difference of latitude, and 
keeping in mind the great similarity of soil and exposure, 
which prevails over the whole western plain. 

In speaking of the products of a new country, our 
estimate must necessarily be, to a great extent, prospec- 
tive. The first settlers are too much occupied in provid- 
ing the means of subsistence, to be able to make much 
for sale ; nor do the farmers of any country raise pro- 
duce to a large amount, until they are satisfied of being 
able to dispose of it to advantage. Trade and agricul- 
ture are so nearly connected, that neither can flourish 
separately. In order to support an active, steady, and 
lucrative trade, a variety of causes must co-operate to- 
gether ; and these causes must be sufficiently permanent 
to produce similar results throughout a series of years. 
The supply of produce must be abundant and regular, so 
as to enable the trader to make his arrangements in ad- 
vance, and to calculate with reasonable certainty ; and its 
quality must be such as to bring it into fair competition 
with a corresponding product from another country. 
Then there must be a market, easy of access ; and a 
mode of transportation which shall be cheap, rapid, and 
safe, or which shall possess these advantages to a certain 
extent. There are a variety of other circumstances 
which are incidental, and v^^hich may or may not operate, 
at any given time ; but all of which do invariably, at 



AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 127 

some period or other, exert an influence upon trade and 
agriculture. Such are ciiiefly the condition of the circu- 
lating medium, the rate of exchange, the existence of 
war and peace in our own or other countries, the preva- 
lence of famine, disease, or other calamity in large dis- 
tricts, and the influence of good or evil legislation. 

It must be very evident, therefore, that in a new coun- 
try, nothing can be settled, upon these points ; and that 
our farmers will, for some years, be uncertain as to the 
proper objects upon which to expend their labor. They 
will be to some extent discouraged ; and will exert less 
industry than they would if the channels of trade were 
fully opened, the markets regular, and the chances of 
success well understood. Besides, most of the products 
of a new country must be carried to market in a raw 
state, and of course in their most bulky and most perish- 
able condition. It is clear that if, in any district, wheal 
may be made, but not Hour, the choice of market and 
chances of sale are greatly reduced to the farmer ; while 
the risk of loss, and the expenses of transportation must 
be greatly enhanced. In a new country, therefore, we 
seldom find any great variety in the agricultural products ; 
and scarcely any are raised but such as require but little 
labor, are in general use, and may be disposed of in their 
crude state. These are generally raised in great profu- 
sion, and sold low. For these reasons the products of 
Illinois are comparatively few in number ; but it Avill be 
seen that this fact is not attributable to the soil or climate, 
but to other circumstances. 

This state presents to the farmer a combination of ad- 
vantages, in reference to its productions, which are scarce- 
ly to be found in any other country. Situated in the 
same latitude with Pennsylvania, and Virginia, it yields 
all the products which arrive at maturity in those states ; 
while its interior position protects it from the extremes 
and vicissitudes of climate which are felt upon the sea- 



■Oh,- 



128 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

coast, where the warmth of spring is chilled by storms 
rushing from snow-clad mountains, and the ocean breeze 
sweeping at all seasons over the land, produces sudden 
changes, and often reverses, for a time, the order of the 
seasons. Although we are not exempt from the opera- 
tion of such casualties, we believe that there is no coun- 
try where the just expectations of the farmer, are so sel- 
dom blighted, as in ours. We may plant early, or gather 
late ; we carry on the business of husbandry throughout 
the whole year, and we find but few days at any one time, 
in which the laborer may not be usefully employed. We 
have the advantages of various climates, without suffering 
greatly from their inclemencies. 

Wheat, rye, barley, buck-wheat, oats, hemp, flax, 
turnips, and Irish potatoes, all of which arrive at perfec- 
tion in more northern latitudes, succeed equally well here. 
The two latter, particularly, attain a degree of size and 
excellence, that we have never seen exceeded, and the 
crops yield abundantly. The produce of the potatoe 
crop is from twenty to twenty-four fold. No crop pays 
in quantity and quality more than this, for careful cultiva- 
tion. The crops raised vary from one hundred and fifty 
to eight hundred bushels to the acre. The latter how- 
ever is an extraordinary crop. The turnip is raised only 
for the table, but produces well. With regard to wheat, there 
is some diversity of opinion ; not whether this grain will 
grow, but v/hether it is, or is not, produced in this coun- 
try in its greatest perfection. We are inclined to adopt 
the afllrmative of this proposition. It is true, that our 
crops vary greatly, both in the amount and quality of the 
produce. But we are satisfied that this disparity arises 
from the degree of care bestowed on the culture. Our 
husbandry is yet in a rude state. Wheat is often sowed 
in new land but partially cleared, often upon corn ground 
badly prepared ; often covered carelessly with the plough, 
without any attempt to pulverize the soil, and very gen- 



AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 129 

erally in fields which have produced an abundant crop of 
grass and weeds, during the preceding autumn. Few of 
our farmers have barns or threshing floors ; the grain is 
preserved in stacks, and trodden out upon the ground, 
with considerable loss, and injury. With all these dis- 
advantages excellent crops are raised, and the grain is re- 
markably good. We learn from a respectable source, 
that the wheat of Illinois and Missouri, is superior to that 
of the other western states ; it is worth more to the baker, 
and the bread made from it is lighter, and more nutritious. 
This fact is attributable to the richness of the soil, and 
the dryness of the atmosphere ; the former cause brings 
the grain to its greatest state of perfection, while the latter 
protects it from all those injuries which are produced by 
moisture. 

In the years 1830 and 1831, wheat was raised on the 
prairies both of Illinois and Missouri, which weighed 
sixty-eight pounds to the bushel. The writer would not 
state this fact, if he had not himself seen a bushel of this 
grain carefully weighed and measured, besides having the 
corroborating testimony of gentlemen residing in both 
these states, who all agreed in making the same statement. 
Sixty pounds is the standard weight of a bushel of wheat 
in the states east of the mountains ; this weight is very 
rarely exceeded, and sixty-three is probably the maximum 
of the finest grain. In Ohio it has been known to weigh 
sixty-four, and we have heard of one instance of its weigh- 
ing sixty-five pounds. We saw a bushel of wheat weighed 
in Kentucky in 1831, which weighed sixty-seven ; in Il- 
linois and Missouri alone has it been found to reach to 
sixty-eight, and that weight we suppose to be not uncom- 
mon there. 

A gentleman from the east, who traveled through Il- 
linois in 1830, Vv'as so struck wdth the whiteness and 
beauty of the flour made at CoUinsville, as to be induced 
to carry a sample to Boston, where it was pronounced 



i^. 



130 WHEAT. 

superior to the best Baltimore flour. From these facts we 
are justified in asserting, that the soil and climate of this 
country is particularly propitious to the growth of wheat; 
and that the prairie region especially, produces this grain 
in its greatest perfection. Twenty-five to thirty bushels 
are raised to the acre, and the price varies from fifty to 
seventy-five cents. Steam mills, for the manufacture of 
flour, have been erected in various parts of Illinois. 

Ohio, is the empire state of the Union for wheat; flour 
is one of the greatest staples. The other staples for export, 
are whisky, pork, lard, bacon, oil, hides, hay, beef, cattle, 
horses, butter, cheese, and apples. The agriculture of this 
state has assumed a steady character. Mills and distille- 
ries afford amply the means of manufacturing grain for 
market; while roads, canals, and other facilities for trans- 
portation, have become so numerous as to encourage the 
farmer to exert his best energies. 

The staples of Kentucky, for export, are tobacco, horses 
for the saddle, harness and plough ; mules, cattle, hogs 
sheep, poultry, beef, pork, lard, lard oil, corn, oats, hay, po- 
tatoes, apples, whisky, cotton bagging, bale rope, and hemp. 
The sheep are estimated at 1,000,000, mostly in small 
flocks ; the great portion of the wool is manufactured in 
the family. Nineteen-twentieths of the capital of the state, 
is said to be employed in agriculture. 

Tennessee is the empire state of the Union for Indian 
corn. Her staples for export are similar to the other states 
of the west, adding cotton, and mcluding a larger propor- 
tion of tobacco. 

Missouri also raises tobacco, and a little cotton for do- 
mestic use. Her other productions are similar to the other 
western states. 

The products of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin 
and Iowa, are similar to those of Ohio. 

Indian corn is the great staple of the whole west. It is 



INDIAN CORN. 13j 

raised in immeTise quantities, with but little labor, and is 
sold at from 8 to 50 cents per bushel ; thousands of bushels 
being annually disposed of in the interior parts of the 
country at the former price. It constitutes the prominent 
article of food for man, and of provender for stock. There 
is no grain that can be cooked in so many ways ; none is 
more delicious, more nourishing, or more generally pala- 
table to the whole population among whom it is raised. 
The poor find in it the cheapest article of food, while at 
the tables of the wealthy it is a highly prized and indispen- 
sable luxury. 

If a western farmer be asked the question, how many 
bushels of corn are raised to the acre, the usual reply is, 
one hundred. This quantity maybe produced, on fine soil, 
with assiduous culture ; but, under ordinary circumstances, 
with careful attention, 60 bushels is about the average crop. 

This grain is particularly suited to the climate and soil 
of the Western States, and to the habits of our farmers. 
Delighting in a rich soil, it finds a congenial home in the 
deep loam of the south and west ; and requiring great heat 
and moisture, without being injured by the extremes of 
either, it is less affected than any other crop by the varia- 
bleness of our climate, but luxuriates alike under floods 
of rain, or in seasons of intense heat. 

A remarkable and curious evidence of the value of this 
grain, is found in the fact that it constitutes one-half of the 
whole bread-stuff product of the United States, in proof of 
which we refer to the followinsf statement which we find in 
Hunt's Merchants' Magazine for December, 1846: 

"Pro^. /or 1844. Pro^Z. /or 1845. 



Wheat, - - • 


- 95,607,000 


106,548,000 


Rye, - - - 


26,450,000 


27,175,000 


Corn, - - • 


- 421,953,000 


417,899,000 


Buckwheat, - 


9,071,000 


10,258,000 


^ i-T- . 


• 3,627,000 


5,160,600 



m., 



132 INDIAN CORN. 

Oals, - - - 172,247,000 163,208,000 

Rico, - - - 1,862,650 1,496,150 

Potatoes, - - 99,493,000 88,392,000 

830,310,650 820,136,750 

The average for these two years, of the gross product of 
the staple articles of food, in the United States, is 824,717,- 
700 bushels; and the average product of corn for the same 
two years is 418.926,000, or a little more than one-half 

It is therefore truly said, in the article just alluded to, 
" Indian corn is pre-eminently the wheat of the Western 
States, and in no small degree of the Middle. It enters 
into the consumption of every state of the Union. The 
average product of 420,000,000, m round numbers, is said to 
be greatly enhanced by the incoming crop. Adhering, 
however, to our basis, we shall be not much in error by 

assigning 7 per cent, for seed, 29,400,000 

Domestic consumption, equal to five bushels 

for each individual, 100,000,000 

For feed of pigs, stock, &c. 200,000,000 

For exportation, 90,520,000 

419,920,000" 

The prominence which has been given to the single ar- 
ticle of corn, as an element in the industry and wealth of 
the country, by the recent advance of prices, affords an in- 
teresting subject of remark. For some years previous to 
the increased demand, in 1846-7, for exportation to Great 
Britain, the average value of corn per bushel had been, at 
New Orleans, about 40 cents, and at Baltimore, Philadel 
phia. New York and Boston about 50 to 56 cents. Thia 
price was not sufficient to stfmulate its production for ex- 
portation, for although it could be raised in the Western 
States for from 10 to 15 cents, and transported to New Or- 
leans from localities bordering on our navigable rivers, for 



INDIAN CORN. 133 

from 12 to 15 cents, the liLibllity of the grain to damag-e, 
the commissions and other charges, but above all the heavy- 
risk for insurance on an article so bulky and perishable, 
left no margin for profit. It has been raised, therefore, 
though in immense quantities, chiefly for home consump- 
tion, for food for man and beast, and as an element in the 
production of beef, pork, lard, whisky, &c. But the ad- 
vance of prices consequent upon the late foreign demand, 
has created a market for this grain in the Atlantic cities, 
and has opened to the farmer a new and most prolific 
source of wealth. It is probable that the demand will con- 
tinue, and we can hardly imagine a richer boon that could 
be conferred by Providence upon our country: the grain is 
produced by a simple process of culture, it is admirably 
adapted to our soil and climate, is highly productive, and at 
fair prices will pay the farmer better for his labor than any 
other product which can be raised on a large scale. Mines 
of gold would be valueless in comparison with the crops 
of corn that will cover our rich, broad plains, if the market 
be fair, and the way to market open. 

The quantity of Indian corn raised in six of the Western 
States in the year 1845, is stated in the valuable report of 
the Commissioner of Patents, for that year, as follows : 

Tennessee, 70,265,000 

Ohio, 57,600,000 

Kentucky, 54,625,000 

Indiana, 30,625,000 

Illinois, 25,584,000 

Missouri, 15,625,000 

254,324,000 

Which, at 40 cents per bushel, is worth $101,729,600. 

The returns from Arkansas, low^a, and Wisconsin, in the 
Report from which Ave extract the above, seem to be defec- 
tive, and we have not at hand the materials to supply the 
' iSI ^^ ^ 



134 INDIAN CORN. 

deficiency, or to make an allowance for Western Virginia 
and Pennsylvania. 

The exportation of corn has hitherto been so limited, and 
its price so low, that it may be considered as a new ele- 
ment in our commerce; the foreign demand for it has 
scarcely began to exercise a stimulative effect upon its pro- 
duction, which will now be largely and rapidly increased ; 
so that if we make a fair allowance for the omissions in 
the above statement for the natural increase of the country, 
and for the increased cultivation to which the improved 
prices will give rise, it may not be considered extravagant 
to estimate the quantity to be produced in the Western 
States and Territories, for the next five years, at 350 mil- 
lions of bushels per year, and its annual value at 40 cents, 
at 140 millions of dollars, or if it be valued at only 30 
cents per bushel, 105 millions of dollars. It is true that 
but a part of this large product will be exported, but it if 
as true, that the price of that part will determine the stand 
ard of value for the remainder, and will regulate the earn- 
ings of the farmer, and the aggregate of wealth produced 
tolhe country through this source. The freight and insu- 
rance upon an article so bulky and perishable, and of such 
immense magnitude in quantity and value, constitute im- 
portant items, which are now taxed upon this product, to 
be paid by the consumer, or to be deducted from the gains 
of the producer, unless indeed, these expenses be so great 
in proportion to the value of the article as to confine it to a 
strictly home consumption, as has been the case in regard 
to the largest portion of it. There is no agricultural pro- 
duct wdiich has been more depressed by the niggardly pol- 
icy of our government on the subject of the improvement 
of our rivers; nor any class of citizens who have been so 
much injured by that policy, as the farmers— the men w^ho 
control the elections, and who might, by united and judi- 
cious efforts, settle this important question. It is very 



SWEET POTATOES, 1 35 

obvious that any facilities afforded to transportation would 
afford a saving to the grower and the purchaser, which 
would be the means of increasing both the demand and the 
production, and of giving stability to this invaluable grain 
as a staple. During the great demand for corn in the 
spring and summer of the present year, the freight charged 
upon its transportation from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia by 
the Canal and Rail-road, was one cent per pound; a charge 
equal to its whole value at Pittsburgh, and which would 
not have been asked, nor paid, if the government had dis- 
charged a plain duty to the people by rendering the navi- 
gation of our great rivers easy and safe at all seasons. 

Pumpkins are planted in our cornfields, and produce 
very abundantly. They are used to a limited extent as 
food for man, and being cut into strips are dried for winter 
use. During the autumn and early part of the winter they 
are fed ad libitum by the farmers, to their horses, cattle, 
and hogs, and are considered very nourishing and fatten- 
ing, and as affording a wholesome change from grain and 
dry food. 

Beans are somewhat largely raised, both for home con- 
sumption and for exportation. 

Cotton, tobacco, and sweet potatoes, which are indigen- 
ous to more southern latitudes, succeed well in ail except 
the most northern parts of this region. Cotton has not be- 
come a staple for exportation, because its production re- 
quires more labor than can be afforded to it in a new coun- 
try, where there are no slaves. But the farmers in Illinois, 
Missouri, and the southern parts of Indiana and Kentucky, 
raise it for home consumption : they make all that they 
use, and most of their families are clad in cotton fabrics, 
manufactured at home. 

Our tobacco crops are not exceeded any where. It has not 
been extensively produced, except in Kentucky and part of 
Missouri, for the same reason that prevents the raising of 



136 GRASS -RYE BARLEY. 

cotton ; but it has been tried in all the western states with 
success. It forms a staple of Kentucky, where it is pro- 
duced in large quantities. From a part of Illinois, lying 
near the Wabash, a good many hogsheads have been an- 
nually exported, and the result of the experiment has been 
altogether satisfactory. A few hogsheads sent from Kas- 
kaskia to New Orleans some years since, were pronounced 
by the inspector to be the best ever brought to that market. 
We could not adduce a stronger proof than this, in favor of 
our soil and climate. The tobacco plant, although coarse 
in its appearance, is one of the most delicate of the vegeta- 
ble kingdom. It thrives only in a rich, light, warm soil, 
requires to be planted early in the spring, and gathered late 
in the autumn. In every stage of its growth, it needs cul- 
ture and attention, and is at all times sensitive to cold, and 
easily destroyed by frost. When we say, therefore, that 
ours is one of the best tobacco countries in the world, we 
assert the strongest evidence of the fertility of the soil, and 
the mildness of our climate. 

Of the grasses it is hardly necessary to speak. The 
prairies, bottom lands, and forests, abound in excellent pas- 
turage ; and there can be little doubt of the success of a 
species of production, which is indigenous to the country. 
Artificial grasses have been extensively introduced, and 
have succeeded well ; but those who have seen the cattle 
wading in prairie grass as high as their backs, cannot doubt 
that pastures, equally luxuriant, and far more nutritious, 
may be produced by art, when these shall be destroyed. 
Grass is the natural and characteristic growth of the country. 
The blue grass grows spontaneously wherever the soil has 
been trodden hard ; it skirts the road-sides, and covers the 
commons around our towns ; the sites of Indian villages 
and encamping grounds, though long since deserted, are 
often discovered by the verdant carpet of blue grass which 
clothes the soil. In Kentucky it is extensively cultivated 



HEMP AND FLAX, 137 

for pasture, and is highly esteemed. Hay is exported to 
the more southern states, where it finds a ready sale. 

The Palina Christi, or Castor Bean, has been exten- 
sively raised, particularly in the south-western part of Illi- 
nois, near St. Louis, at which city it finds a market for 
manufacture. The quantity of castor oil made there has 
been considerable, and the quality good. 

Rye and barley are not generally cultivated in the west- 
ern states, because they do not bear exportation to advan- 
tage, and are but little esteemed for home consumption. 
Indian corn is cheaper, and is greatly preferred, as a bread- 
stuff and wheat is within the reach of almost all. Both 
these grains are however produced in sufficient quantities 
to supply the demand of the breweries and distilleries, and 
to test their adaptation to our soil, in which they succeed 
well. The production of barley has been greatly increased 
fately in consequence of the increase of breweries in our 
cities and towns. The dem.and for beer has been created 
by our foreign population. 

Oats are raised in every part of the country, and are very 
productive. They are used for horse-food, but for no other 
purpose. 

Hemp and flax grow well. The latter seems to have 
been superceded in its primary uses by cotton, the fabrics of 
which are now so various and so cheap. But the plant is ' 
still raised for the domestic purposes of the farmer, and for 
the seed, which is used extensively for manufl\cture. Lin- 
seed oil is made at Cincinnati in such quantities as to form 
one of the regular staples for exportation, besides supplying 
our own market. 

Hemp has been cultivated very extensively and with 
success in Kentucky for many years, and the product is 
said to be of excellent quahty. Mr. Clay has considered 
it so important a product, that, as a legislator, he has been 
unceasing in his efforts for its protection from foreign com- 



138 HEMP. 

petition, while he has recommended its cultivation by ex- 
ample, and with his pen, and has used his best efforts to as- 
certain an-J teach the best modes of preparing it for market, 
and to introduce the American article into use in oui Navy 
and commercial marine. The rich lands of all the western 
states are well adapted to the culture of this valuable plant. 
The quantity of net hemp produced to the acre, is from six 
hundred to one thousand weight, varying according to the 
fertility and preparation of the soil and the season. The 
price of the lint when prepared for the manufacturer, has 
varied from three to eight dollars, for the long hundred. 
The average price now may be quoted at from three to 
four dollars. It is now raised in Ohio and other states, and 
is a principal staple for several counties in Missouri, where 
it is raised in such large quantities for exportation, as to 
rival the production of Kentucky. There are large man- 
ufactories for the conversion of hemp into bagging, at 
Louisville, Newport, and Maysville in Kentucky, and at 
Cincinnati. 

The following remarks on western hemp, are extracted 
from the New Orleans Price Current, of September 1, 
1847. 

" So late as the jenr 1841-42, the total receipts at this 
port from the west were only 1211 bales; as neary the 
whole production was— and had been for a series of years — 
consumed in the interior, in the manufacture of cotton bag- 
ging and rope. About this time, however, the attention of 
government was directed to our home product, and meas- 
ures were taken to test its applicability to naval purposes. 
The tests applied, under the direction of scientific men ap- 
pointed for the purpose, gave highly favorable results ; and 
the expectation of an extended market gave a stimulus 
to enlarged cultivation. Our first notice of the article 
w'as in our annual statement of 1st September, 1844 ; 
when we took occasion to remark that the day was '•' proba- 



HEMP. 139 

bly not far distant when American hemp would not only 
supercede the use of the Russian in our own marine, but 
successfully compete with it in the markets of Europe." 
This prediction has been more speedily fulfilled than could 
have been anticipated ; as will be seen by the fact that the 
receipts from the west this season have been 60,238 bales, 
while the imports from Russia into Boston and New York, 
have been less than 500 tons. Of the quantity received 
here 47,411 bales were exported to the north, against 24,265 
bales last year, and 4,977 bales to Europe, against 6,851 
bales the year previous ; but, notwithstanding this increase 
in the supply, prices have averaged much higher than in 
any previous year ; and to this fact may be attributed the 
falling off in the foreign export ; the increased demand for 
home use having driven most of the European orders out 
of market. It may be proper here to remark, however, that 
the increase of receipts does not present the true ratio of 
increase in production ; for the reason explained in our last 
annual statement ; when we stated that high freights in the 
early part of the season, and subsequently lowMvaters in the 
rivers, had prevented a considerable portion of the Missouri 
crop from reaching market. The portion of the crop of 

1846 thus detained in the interior is estimated to have been 
about 16,000 bales; and it is this addition to the crop of 

1847 that has swelled our receipts this year to 60,238 bales ; 
which at an average of 375 lbs. per bale is equal to about 
1 0,000 tons. The comparative receipts, and average prices, 
for a series of years, will be shown by the following table : 

BALES. PER TON. 

1842-43, - - - 14,873 - - - $80 00 
1843-44, - - - 38,062 - - - 66 00 
1844-45, - - - 46,274 - - - 60 00 
1845-46, - - - 30,980 - - - 60 00 
I84&-47, - - - 60,238 - - - 90 00 
The extreme rates for dew rotted, which description em- 



140 HEMP. 

braces the bulk of the suppl}'-, have this year been $5S^ 
$125 per ton : the lowest price early in September, and the 
highest in the early part of April, Avhcn supplies had not 
yet begun to arrive freely, and the markets of the north 
were bare, with an unusually active demand for cordage. 
About the same time, too, there were some sales of hack- 
led at $135.2^142 50, and of water-rotted at $200 per 
ton ; but these prices soon gave way under the pressure of 
heavy receipts and high freights, and rapidly ran down to 
880a$85 for dew rotted, which were the prevailing rates 
up to the latter part of July, when the bulk of the supply 
having been disposed of, and the demand continuing, the 
rates recovered, and close at $110 per ton. The total ex- 
ports since 1st September have been 52,388 bales, of which 
47,411 bales have been shipped to northern ports, and 4977 
to Europe, viz — to Liverpool 1896, London 709, Glasgow 
184, New Ross 199, Antwerp 201, Dundee 1745, Ply- 
mouth 43. 

Our information respecting the growing crop leads us to 
the conclusion that the supply w-illbe much less than dur- 
ing the past season. It is said that in Kentucky not only 
have the lands usually sown with hemp been, to a consider- 
able extent, devoted to other products, but that the average 
yield is likely to be curtailed by bad seed, and damage 
from storms. In Missouri we understand that the crop is 
expected to be about the same in extent as in 1846 ; but 
the arrivals from that section must show a material falling 
off; as parts of several previous crops came forward among 
the receipts of last year." 

There is every reason to believe that our climate is very 
congenial to the production of silk, and that it will become 
a valuable staple. It has already been produced in sufficient 
quantities for experiment. The industrious and ingenious 
community, which has so long flourished in our countr}'- 
under the spiritual guidance of the late venerable Mr. Rapp, 



I 



SILK. 141 

have raised the worm and manufactured silk with great 
success. We have seen handkerchiefs, ribbons, and vest- 
ings, made by them at their town of Economy, which were 
fine and beautiful. At Richmond, Indiana, or in that vicin- 
ity, the production of silk has also been successfully pursued, 
and very handsome fabrics of that manufacture sold in 
Cincinnati. Mr. John Russell of Illinois, who was favora- 
bly known some years ago by the ingenious productions of 
his pen, and who gave his personal attention to the rearing 
of silk worms, remarks, in an article written for the Illinois 
Magazine, in 1831 : 

" The culture of silk is extremely simple, so far as con- 
cerns the production of the balls or cocoons, unconnected 
with any further process. All who have reared silkworms 
in our country, read Avith a smile the directions found in 
European books, for regulating the heat of the room where 
they are kept, by the scale of a thermometer, and by a 
stove and other apparatus. No insect is more hardy than 
the silk worm ; and the mode of managing it is so simple, 
that any person of ordinary capacity, by the aid of a few 
general directions, and his own observations, can hardly be 
at a loss in any stage of the process. The expensive labora- 
tories and apparatus of Europe, are all dispensed with in. 
the United States," &c. ^ 

" It is the simplicity of the art that constitutes one of its 
strongest recommendations. Children and females, whose 
labor for want of employment suited to their condition, is, 
in a great measure, lost, are fully equal to raising silk worms ; 
and thus to diffuse cheerfulness and plenty around many a 
dwelling, where want and its attendant miseries are now 
found." 

'•' Of the simplicity of the process, and the high profits 
derived from it, we will give a practical example from our 
own state. Dr. Greene of Belleville, in his circular of the 
present year, states: two of my boys, the eldest 14, the 



142 SILK. 

other 12 years of age, attended 40,000 of the common silk 
worms. During the two first weeks, the worms being 
small, scarcely half an hour a day was taken up, and dur- 
ing the last two weeks, not more than two hours. The 
produce of these worms was 80 pounds of balls or cocoons, 
equal to about 10 pounds of wound silk. Most of this was 
manufactured into sewing silk, which sold on the spot at 
from $6,50 to $7,50, The time taken up in attending to 
this, did not interfere with the actual business of the farm, 
and in five weeks the whole process was completed." 

These worms " were fed on shelves, in the dwelling and 
out houses, and with no regard to temperature. The worms 
were healthy, and the produce, at least in weight, equal to 
that of the most expensive laboratory." 

Mr. Smith of Baltimore, says, in one of his publications, 
"one female and a boy can attend, with ease, to 100,000 
worms, if they devote all their time to them, which would 
yield in finished silk, 315 dollars." In some parts of Con- 
necticut, the girls attend to their worms in barns, and pro- 
duce as good silk as those who construct laboratories. 

America is destined to be a rich silk growing countr}?-, 
and there is no part of our continent so \vell adapted to 
this branch of industry, as the western and south-western 
states, where the insect may be reared with no other pro- 
tection than that afforded by open sheds. The black mul- 
berry, on the leaves of which the worms feed and thrive, is 
a hardy native of our soil, but the silk produced from it is 
not fine ; the morus muUicaulis^ or white mulberry, grows 
luxuriantly without any culture, and is the proper food of 
this valuable insect. 



FRUITS 143 

CHAPTER XI. 

Fruits. 

The western states are too new to afford the cultivated 
fruits in great abundance; but the experiments which have 
been tried, sufficiently attest their peculiar adaptation to\ 
our soil and climate; and if further evidence be desired, it is 
found in the quantity and excellence of our wild fruits ; for 
it is fairly inferable, that where the latter grow spontane- 
ously, the corresponding domestic fruits, and those of a 
similar character, may be produced by art. We have the 
grape, plum, crab-apple, cherry, persimmon, gooseberry, 
mulberr}^, strawberry, raspberry, pawpaw, and blackberry, 
growing wild. Of these, the grape is the most important, 
and perhaps the most abundant. It is found in all the 
western states^ and in every variety of soil ; in the prai- 
ries, it is interwoven with every thicket, and in the river 
bottom, it climbs to the tops of the tallest trees. The vine 
IS very prolific, and the fruit excellent. Indeed, we do not 
know of any part of the United States, in which the native 
grape flourishes so luxuriantly ; and when we consider this 
fact, in connection with the mildness of the climate, we 
may v/ell be encouraged to hope, that the vines of foreign 
countries will find here a congenial soil. We know of one 
gentleman, in Illinois, who made twenty-seven barrels of 
wine in a single season, from the grapes gathered, with 
but little labor, in his immediate neisfhborhood : and we 
suppose that the quantity might have been increased almost 
indefinitely, had the encouragement been sufficient. The 
French, who first settled this country, are said to have 
made a wine resembling claret ; which was so good, that 
the merchants of Bourdeaux, used exertions to prevent its 
exportation, and procured an edict to that eflfect. 



144 THE GRAPE, 

The vine has succeeded well at Harmony and Vevay in 
Indiana, under the culture of the foreigners who settled at 
those places, but their wines were not such as to grow into 
repute. 

A public spirited gentleman at Cincinnati, Mr. Nicholas 
Longworth, has devoted much attention to this subject, 
and has introduced many varieties of foreign grapes. He 
has vSpared neither labor nor expense in the endeavor to 
procure and naturalize such as might be useful. A few 
of them only have succeeded ; and he has come to the 
conclusion, that, as a general rule, we must depend on 
the native grapes for fruit. To his persevering exam« 
pie and his publications, we are indebted, more than 
to any other cause, for the success with which the vine has 
been cultivated, and the extent to which it has been intro- 
duced, though recently some other gentlemen have devoted 
great attention to the subject; among the most conspicuous 
were the late Jacob Resor Esq., and Dr. Melchoir Flagg. 

Mr. Longworth has a number of vineyards occupied by 
tenants, chiefly Germans, who make large quantities of 
wine every year. Foreigners have not proved the most 
successful cultivators of the grape, or makers of wine. Not 
being educated persons, they do not easily change their 
modes of labor, nor recognize the difference between their 
own country and ours, in soil and climate, which would in- 
dicate the necessity of such changes. The industry and 
perseverance of the Germans render them useful citizens 
and valuable cultivators ; but they have taiight us little ; 
and we must depend on the ingenuity of our own people^ 
for the discoveries and improvements by means of which 
the grape shall be brought to the perfection of which we 
think it susceptible in this country. 

The Cincinnati Horticultural Society, established in 
1843, has exercised a very salutary influence, in dissemi- 
nating a taste for rural pursuits, and creating a spirit of 



THE GRAPE. 1^5 

emulation among cultivators of fruits and flowers. From 
their last report, we find that there are in the neighborhood 
of Cincinnati 83 vineyards, containing about 250 acres 
114 acres of which are in bearing, the remainder havino- 
been but recently planted, and that the product of wine for 
the year 1845 was 23,219 gallons. This wine was worth 
from 50 to 75 cents per gallon, and the whole crop proba- 
bly yielded to the cultivators $40,000. The crop of 1846 
was much larger, and the vineyards are increased. 

The best grape cultivated here for wine, is the Catawba, 
a native, which thrives and bears well, while it yields a 
palatable wine, from which it is thought a good sparklino- 
Hock or Champagne could be made. The experiment 
has been made by Mr. Longworth and others with the 
most satisfactory results, and there is but little doubt that in 
the course of a few years we shall produce this delightful 
wine in abundence. The wine now made is a dry and 
somewhat acid article, resembling the Rhenish, and better, 
we are told, than the common wines of that region. We are 
told in the report above alluded to, that in Cincinnati, sales 
of American Champagne have been made, where one hun- 
dred boitles sold for 8125. It now sells readily for from 
$1,00 to 81,50 per gallon. The common retail price for 
good Catawba wine is from 40 to 50 cents per bottle. One 
German is said to have retailed one thousand gallons, the 
produce of the vintage of 1845. Alluding to the crop of 
that year, stated to be 23,219 gallons, the Report above 
quoted concludes, " many of the vineyards then bore for 
the first time : and more than one-half of the crop was cut 
off by the frost and rot, which made it as great a failure as 
will be likely to occur in any one year. The average 
yield of wine per acre, for five years in succession, with 
proper care and attention, may be safely calculated at 450 
to 500 gallons. Most of our vineyards, as may be pre- 
sumed by the names in the table, are cultivated by Ger 



146 THE GRAPE. 

mans and Swiss. Several, however, of the older and 
larger ones, belong to our distinguished horticulturist, N, 
Longworth Esq , to whom is justly entitled the praise of 
introducing into this vicinity the cultivation of the vine, for 
which he may be considered a public benefactor." 

Among the pioneers in this culture which promises to be 
so useful; was the late Jacob Resor Esq., whose son has 
furnished the following interesting particulars in regard to 
his vineyard. The vineyard has a southern exposure, front- 
ing on the Ohio river ; it was planted with rooted plants in 
1834, and contained at that time, 1775 vines, planted in 
rows four feet apart, and three feet distance in the row — the 
ground being previously trenched, and the stones taken out 
to the depth of two feet. 

In the fall of 1837 the first crop vras picked, as follows: 
163 bushels of grapes, from which was made 667 gallons 
of wine. At this time there were 1125 Isabella and Cape 
vines, yielding 113 bushels, making 469 gallons, and 630 
Catawba, yielding 51 bushels, making 19-8 gallons. 



In 1S38, 


the 


vintage 


produced 


327 


gallons. 


" 1839, 




u 


u 


440 


ii. 


" 1840, 




a 


u 


305 


u 


« 1841, 




li 


ii 


512 


u 


« 1842, 




a 


u 


485 


u 


" 1843, 




c. 


a 


538 


ii 


" 1844, 




a 


ii 


414 


li 


" 1845, 




u 


a 


632 


u 



We close this subject with the following interesting e\ 
tract, from a pamphlet by Mr. Longworth, published in 
1846: 

" The day is not distant, when the Ohio river will rival 
the Rhine in the quantity and quality of its wine. I give 
the Catawba the preference over all other grapes, for a gen- 
eral crop for wine. Sugar was formerly added. The 



THE GRAPE. 147 

Germans have taught us better. Where the fruit is well 
ripened, sugar will injure it, where intended for long keep- 
ing ; where the grapes do not ripen well, I should still add 
from 6 to 10 ounces of sugar to the gallon of must. It 
rivals the best Hock, and makes a superior Champagne. 
The Missouri grape makes a fine wine, resembling Ma- 
deira ; but is less productive than the Catawba. 1 have 
heretofore considered this a French Pineau grape, as it is a 
delicate grower with us; but I sent some of the plants to 
my sister, in New Jersey, where the soil is poor, stoney and 
stiff It there grows as luxuriantly as the wild grape of 
the woods, and is perfectly hardy ; and I now deem it a 
native. I obtained it of Messrs. Prince, of Long Island, 
twenty-five years since. The berry is small, the bunches 
of medium size, berries free from a hard pulp, and very 
Bweet. The Heibemont is a fine table grape, and makes a 
fine wine : but is subject to rot. The Lenoir much resem- 
bles it, if not identical, which some consider it. I do not. 
The Ohio is a fine table grape, bunches much larger than 
either of the former ; but experience does not enable me to 
recommend it highly for wine. It has a peculiar flavor, 
and resembles a foreign variety I have heard highly lauded, 
but does not suit my taste. The Bland is a bad bearer : does 
not ripen well, nor make a good wine, but is a fine table 
grape. I do not believe it a native grape. Gen. Harrison 
informed me, that it was introduced into Virginia sixty 
years since, by a French gentleman of the name of Maz- 
zei. The Elsinborough is a good table grape, and free 
from hard pulp." 

" Norton's seedling is far inferior as a table grape, to the 
Herbemont, Ohio, Lenoir, Elsinborough and Missouri, 
which it resembles in the size of its fruit. It has a pulp. 
1 am trying it this season on a small scale, for wine. The 
grapes were very ripe, and the wine has much body, and 
is of a dark claret color, though pressed as soon as gathered. 



148 THE GRAPE. 

I do not admire the flavor of the wine. Writers tell us to 
the contrary, but grapes may be too ripe to make good 
wine ; and I incline to the opinion that this was the case 
with my Norton's seedling. The grapes were pressed as 
soon as gathered, yet the wine was nearly black. A cer- 
tain proof that a fermentation had taken place in the fruit 
before gathered. It was increasing the saccharine princi- 
ple, at the expense of the aroma and flavor." 

" In the hope of inciting other Germans ' to go and do 
likewise,' I will state the result at one of my vineyards this 
season. Sixteen years since, I bought an unusually bro- 
ken piece of ground on Boldface creek, four miles from the 
city. The soil is rich, but abounds in stone. I had a ten- 
ant on it four years, who was bound to plant a vineyard. 
At the end of four years nothing was done. I tried a sec- 
ond, and after three years, found no grapes. I then gave a 
contract to a German, (Mr. Tuferber), who had a wife, 
daughter, and three stout boys. I gave him a hard bar- 
gain ; I required him to trench and wall with stone, six 
acres for grapes, in three years, and nine acres in five 
years, lie was also to plant out a peach orchard, and tend 
an apple orchard, I had on the place. The wine and pro- 
ceeds of ihe orchards were to be equally divided. I care- 
fully avoided climbing the stony hill for three years, ex- 
pecting the same result as formerly. When I visited the 
hill, at the end of three years, I found the six acres hand- 
somely trenched and walled, and set with grapes. There 
are now nine acres in grapes. The tenant complained this 
year, of the rot in his vineyard. I am in the habit of sell- 
ing to the tenants, my share of the vintage, at a price that 
enables them to sell at a profit. I this season sold at 75 
(C.ents per gallon at the press for the Catawba, 62i cents for 
the Cape, and 50 cents for the small quantity of Isabella 
made. He has paid me $661 for my share of the wine, 
and for his share and the profit on my part, has realized the 



THE GRAPE. 149 

sum of $1,392 50. The Catawba he sold at $1 25 per 
gallon." 

" The best crop for the extent of ground this season, was 
at the vineyard of Mr. Rents, about four miles from town. 
Two acres yielded 1300 gallons. This is as large a yield 
as I have known, taking two acres together. To select 
particular spots, I have raised at the rate of 1470 gallons to 
the acre. The grapes at the vineyard of Mr. Rents would 
have ripened better, had one-third of the bunches been cut 
off early in the season. Where the crop is very abundant, 
it requires a very favorable season to ripen the fruit well." 

"Six hundred and fifty gallons to the acre, is a large yield, 
and the season must be favorable, or they will not ripen 
well. A large crop is often occasioned by leaving too 
much bearing wood. This should always be avoided ; for 
even if the crop ripens thoroughly, too much of the sap is 
taken by the fruit, and too little left to produce good young 
wood for the next season's crop." 

" This season I have retained a part of my share of the 
wine, that I deemed the best, and have also bought a por- 
tion of the same quality from the tenants at an advanced 
price. A part of it is fermented, with a view of bottling it 
for Champagne wine. The residue will undergo a full 
fermentation, and I shall bottle it when two years old, pure 
as when it came from the press ; when it will be of the 
character of dry old Hock. Heretofore, all the wine made 
at my vineyards, has been sold to our C^erman coffee 
houses, and drank in our city. That which I have re- 
tained this season, is intended to be sent abroad, in the 
hope that it may lead persons in other sections of the coun- 
try, to turn their attention to the cultivation of the grape 
for wine." 

" I have for thirty years experimented on the foreign 
grape, both for the table and for wine. In the acclimation 
of plants, I do not believe; for the White Sweet Water 

n2 



150 WINE. 

does not succeed as well with me, as it did thirty years 
since. I obtained a large variety of French grapes from 
Mr. Loubat, many years since. They were from the 
vicinity of Paris and Bourdeaux. From Madeira, I obtain- 
ed six thousand vines of their best wine grapes. Not one 
was found worthy of cultivation in this latitude, and were 
rooted from the vineyards. As a last experiment, I import- 
ed seven thousand vines from the mountains of Jura, in the 
vicinity of Salins, in France. At that point the vine re- 
gion suddenly ends, and many vines are there cultivated 
on the north side of the mountain, where the ground is 
covered with snow the whole winter, from three to four 
feet deep. Nearly all lived, and embraced about twenty 
varieties of the most celebrated wine grapes of France. 
But after a trial of five years, all have been thrown away. 
I also imported samples of wine made from all the grapes. 
One variety alone, the celebrated Arbois wine, which par- 
takes slightly of the Champagne character, would compete 
with our Catawba." 

"If we intend cultivating the grape for wine, we must re- 
ly on our native grapes, and new varieties raised from their 
seed. If I could get my lease of life renewed for twenty 
or thirty years, I would devote my attention to the subject, 
and I would cross our best native varieties with the best 
table and wine grapes of Europe. We live in a great 
age. Discoveries are daily made that confound us, and 
we know not where we shall stop. We are told of exper- 
iments in Mesmerism, as wonderful as the grinding over 
system would be ; but I fear the discovery will not be 
brought to perfection in time to answer my purpose, and I 
must leave the subject with the young generation." 

''As I have before stated, from the Catawba grape, at my 
vineyards, this season, three of my tenants assure me, the 
yield was upwards of five gallons to the bushel. Where 
most of the grapes were separated from the stems, the yield 



WLNE. 151 

was six and a half gallons to the bushel. They may talk 
of a larger yield in Germany. Mr. Hebermont boasted of 
making upwards of three thousand gallons to the acre, in 
South Carolina. I presume he judged from the product of 
a single vine." 

"I would not recommend any individual to hire hands, 
and cultivate the grape extensively for wine, with a view 
to profit. But I would recommend landlords to rent from 
15 to 20 acres to Germans, for vineyards and orchards, on 
shares. We have more to learn in the manufacture of the wine 
than in the cultivation of the grape. And I would recom- 
mend our German vine dressing emigrants, to purchase or 
lease a few acres of rough, cheap land on the Ohio, or near 
it, with a view to the cultivation of the grape. Land will 
be suitable for it, that is too rough for the plough, and 
eight or ten acres will give employment to a whole family." 

*' Thus far, our wine has met with a ready sale in our 
own city ; but with the contemplated extension of the 
grape culture in this vicinity, we shall soon be compelled 
to look abroad for a market. We have predjudices to over- 
come, ' for a prophet is not honored in his own country.' 
We become fond of the flavor of particular wines from a 
continued use of them, as some of our citizens have of Big 
Bone water, and the bilge water taste of the Spanish Man- 
sinaella. Our domestic wines have a flavor of their own, 
and although they would generally be preferred by persons 
not used to the flavor of particular wines, w\\h wine-drink- 
ers it will require time to form a taste for them. It was so 
with our G'^rman population. For a time they gave a de- 
cided preference to German wines. They now greatly 
prefer the domestic, and will pay for it double the price of 
foreign. If we cannot otherwise suit the palates of 
those accustomed to the flavor of European wines, we can 
gratify their tastes by infusing into the must, the juice of 
the elder berry, dried elder blossoms, rosin, and nineteen 



152 WINE. 

other ingredients which iheir writers tell us are used to 
flavor their wines." 

"It has been considered a settled principle that good wine 
cannot be manufactured in the United States. We have 
this predjudice to overcome, and the quality of our wine 
will not of itself, always enable us to do it. Two strong 
instances occur to my mind, that happened in our city. 
A gentleman in our own city, in whose judgment in wines 
great confidence was placed, could never be induced even 
to taste our domestic Hock, though a great admirer of the 
imported article. On two or three occasions I knew him 
to take a glass, and praise it highly ; but the moment that 
a smile from the host told him of his error, he backed out, 
readily discovered his error, and could not be induced to 
make a further trial. But on a certain occasion a friend 
invited him to dine with him, and drink a glass of superior 
Hock, recently sent him as a present. The bait took — 
the gentleman praised the wine highly, and pronounced it 
equal to any he had ever drank, and proved his sincerity 
by not leaving the table until he had two bottles under his 
belt ; and for the next month never met his host, without 
inquiring if all his fine wine was gone, and expressing a 
great desire to give it a second trial. After he w^as fairly 
committed he was told it was the native Catawba. From 
that day he knocked under, and acknowledged his predju- 
dices had blinded him." 

The earliest fruit which ripens is the wild strawberry, 
wdiich is found rearing its modest stem, and yielding its 
rich berry in every part of the United States. The climate 
of the western states is congenial to it, and in favorable sit- 
uations the fruit is delicious and the product great. Ex- 
tensive spots on the prairies are found covered with it. 

The cultivated strawberry is reared at Cincinnati in the 
most extraordinary quantities, and of the finest quality. It 
seems to be the favorite fruit of the gardeners — perhaps on 



THE STRAWBERRY. 153 

account of the congeniality of the soil and climate to its 
culture, and the comparatively small degree of skill and 
labor required by it. Certainly the quantity produced is 
almost marvelous, and the size and flavor of the fruit un- 
rivalled. We quote the following remarks from the Report 
of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, for 1846: 

" The more efficient cause however of the extensive culti- 
vation of this fruit, was the discovery which Mr. Long- 
worth was the first to publish, of the distinction between 
staminate and pistillate plants — of male and female plants, 
or of those which bear and those which are barren. Where 
this distinction is not observed, the male plants occupy a 
large portion of the beds, while the fruit is borne by the fe- 
males, and the former, being the most vigorous, soon overrun 
the ground and extirpate the latter. But since our garden- 
ers have been taught to select the bearing plants, and to 
draw from their beds all but a few of the male plants, the 
product has been large and invariable. It is somewhat 
singular that a fact so simple, and so easily tested, should 
have been pertinaciously denied for years by some horticul- 
turalists,and that it has been with some difficulty established 
by the gentleman to whom we owe its announcement ; al- 
though the practical gardeners in our neigborhood w^re not 
slow to adopt it, and by means of it have been eminently 
successful. 

"The person who discovered, or who first made a practical 
use of the theory of male and female plants, was a Mr. 
Arbegust, a market gardener of Philadelphia, who excell- 
ed in strawberries, and who removed to Cincinnati about the 
year 1816. Mr. Longworth says of him, 'Mr, Arbegust 
for many years sold nine-tenths of the strawberries brought 
to our market, and raised the Hudson only. Whilst I could, 
from one-fourth of an acre, scarcely raise a bushel, he 
would raise 40 bushels. His fruit was much larirer than 



154 THE STRAWBERRY. 

any other brought to market, and commanded from twenty- 
five to thirty-seven and a half cents per quart. He made a 
handsome competence from the sale of tliis fruit. Flis se- 
cret he kept to himself, and had been as much noted for 
the size of his fruit, and the quantity raised on a given 
space of ground, in Philadelphia, as he was here. A 
chance observation of a son of his one day, in my garden, 
saying, "I must raise but little fruit, as all my plants were 
males," first led my attention to the subject. I soon discov- 
ered that there were what he called male and female 
plants, and communicated the fact to our market gardeners. 
The result was, strawberries rapidly increased in our mar- 
ket, till as fine as had been raised by Mr. Arbegust, were 
sold at from three to ten cents per quart, and he ceased to 
cultivate them.' 

"Immense quantities are raised for the Cincinnati market, 
one individual, (Mr. Culbertson.) having sent to market, in 
a single day, four thousand quarts, and employing sixty 
hands to gather them. All the famous eastern varieties 
are cultivated here, and do well. Besides these, very fine 
seedlings have been raised by Mr. Mottier, Mr. Longworth, 
and others, that are as large, prolific, and high flavored, as 
have been described by eastern writers. The plan of ship- 
ping them to New Orleans, packed in ice, has just com- 
menced, and may eventually become an important branch 
of business, as they can be taken down in a week by our 
regular packets." — Report liort. Soc. 

So remarkable were the statistics of our strawberries con- 
sidered, that in 1846 the Horticultural society appointed a 
committee to ascertain the facts, a duty which they dischar- 
ged by attending the market daily, and inquiring at the 
stalls the number of quarts actually on sale. The result 
is embraced in the following report, which may be relied 
upon as strictly accurate. 



TIIE STRAWBERRY. 



155 



REPORT 

Of the Committee of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, 
on the Statistics of the Strawberry, and the quantity sold 
in the Cincinnati market, for the year 1846. 



May 


19th, 


10 bushels. 


June 


1st, - 


100 bushels. 


do 


20th, 


- 20 


do 


do 


2d, - 


300 


do 


do 


21st, 


- 20 


do 


do 


3J, - 


300 


do 


do 


22d, 


- 25 


do 


do 


4tb, - 


300 


do 


do 


23d, 


- 55 


do 


do 


5th, - 


300 


do 


do 


25th. 


- 20 


do 


do 


6th, - 


350 


do 


do 


26th,' 


- 250 


do 


do 


8th, ' 


100 


do 


do 


27th, 


- 200 


do 


do 


9th, - 


350 


do 


do 


28th, 


- 200 


do 


do 


lOlh, - 


300 


do 


do 


29th, 


- 250 


do 


do 


nth, - 


250 


do 


do 


30th, 


- 300 


do 


do 


12th, - 


150 


do 






E 


E 

Total, 


E D 

for 22 days, 










4,150 b 


ushels. 










D. 


K. Cady, 


Chairman. 



« The wild gooseberry is very full of thorns, and produces 
a small fruit, of an agreeable taste. It is scattered through- 
out the west, but is most abundant on the upper Mississippi. 
There is one variety without thorns. 

Pawpaws are very abundant on the bottom lands and 
rich hills. The fruit is delicious ; and those who have 
overcom.e a distaste which the cloying richness, and singu- 
lar flavor, occasions to a palate unaccustomed to this very 
elegant production, become exceedingly fond of it. Scarce- 
ly any brute will eat the pawpaw ; even the omniverous 
hog will not touch it. It is said that the racoon has taste 
enough to be fond of it ; if so he has a rich banquet in al- 
most exclusive enjoyment, for we know of no other animal, 
but man, by whom this fruit is relished. 

The wild plum, is found in all the western states, and 
bears immense quantities of fine fruit. The varieties are 
numerous. Its growth is an indication of fine land. It is 
scattered thinly through all our alluvial soils near the 
rivers, and is found in dense groves on the prairies. 



156 APPLES PEACHES. 

or domestic fruits, the peach and apple are most com- 
mon ; the pear is less generally cultivated, but succeeds 
equally well. Our apples are remarkably fine ; the trees 
grow rapidl}', are smooth, vigorous, and healthy; they bear 
abundantly and the fruit is large and finely flavored. Or- 
chards are numerous in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, and 
very prolific. In the more western states, the apple tree 
has not yet been cultivated to the same extent ; but we have 
never seen this tree flourish better or produce finer fruit 
than in Illinois. No market in the United States, is sup- 
plied with finer apples, or with a greater abundance than 
that of Cincinnati ; it is perhaps, in respect to this fruit, 
unequaled. 

In the report of the Horticultural Society, already quoted, 
the apple is mentioned as follows : 

" The soil and climate of the Ohio valley seem to be 
peculiarly well adapted to the culture of this fruit. Eas- 
tern fruits, when cultivated here, grow so much larger and 
fairer, as scarcely to be recognized as the same varieties. 
With so fine a climate, and the production of so many val- 
uable seedlings, it is not strange, that large quantities are 
raised and shipped, of a quality that cannot be rivalled in 
any part of the Union. The early settlers of Ohio, then 
without any of the facilities of communication of the pre- 
sent day, and unable to bring trees hundreds of miles over 
rough roads and through an uninhabited wilderness, provi- 
ded themselves with large quantities of seeds which were 
promiscuously sown. This accounts for the large number 
of excellent seedlings found at the present day. It is well 
known that American apples generally are so much 
superior to those grown in Europe, that they are now a reg- 
ular article of export." 

Of our delicious peaches, we shall speak briefly. They 
cannot be excelled in size or flavor. The fruit however of- 
ten fails. Our winters are so short and variable, that the 



RASPBERRY. 1 57 

buds often swell prematurely, and are destroyed by frost 
even before the opening of spring. But when the trees 
bear they are loaded with immense quantities of fine fruit. 
Taking a number of years together, the peach will proba- 
bly bear about as often as it will fail. Sometimes it will 
bear every alternate year, and sometimes fail for several 
years successively. Some good seedling varieties have 
been produced in the west ; and these, when fine, are to be 
preferred to the engrafted fruit, as more hardy, and better 
adapted to the climate. 

Quinces, cherries, and plums, succeed well ; and the 
same remark will apply to the gooseberry, the currant, the 
strawberry, and the raspberry. We have seen all these 
fruits growing in great perfection ; and in no instance have 
we seen much art bestowed on their culture — scarcely any 
beyond the act of planting. 

We have several native varieties of the raspberry. The 
common sort, which bears a dark berry early in the spring, 
is very abundant and a prolific bearer. These are sold in 
large qantities in the markets of our cities, succeeding im- 
mediately after the strawberry. The Ohio monthly, or 
ever-bearing raspberry, is a variety of great merit, bearing 
fruit constantly from June to November. Several very fine 
foreign varieties are produced in our gardens, and supply 
the markets of our cities with large quantities. 



CHAPTER Xir. 

Farming and Improvements. 

Having described the pastoral habits, and loose mode of 
farming, which prevail throughout the greater portion of 
the new States, it is necessary to qualify those remarks, in 



158 FArtAHNG AND I1VIFR0VEMENT9. 

reference to large districts of the more densely settled parts 
of the countrvj into which improved forms of cultivation 
have been introduced. In the neighborhood of all the 
cities, and larger towns, the progress of improvement is dis- 
tinctly visible, in the m.ore careful and economical tillage, 
and the substantial style of building. Along the shores of 
the navigable rivers, where the busy sound of steam ma- 
chinery is heard passing along the water, and wherever a 
rail-road, a canal, or a Macadamized road, penetrating the 
country, opens the way to market and an avenue for crowds 
of travelers, there the wilderness ceases to be the predomi- 
nating character of the landscape, the log cabin disappears, 
and a brick or framed farm house rises in its stead. The 
numerous stumps, and the tall dead trees, whose blackened 
stems and spectral limbs deform the clearings of the new 
settlements, have mouldered into dust, and orchards and 
meadows adorn the land. 

Along all the avenues of commerce and travel, the vil- 
lao-es have thrown ofi^ their orioinal roucrhness, and are 
greatly improved in appearance. The first hamlets in 
which human beings congregate in new countries are ex- 
ceedingly rude. The houses, built of rough logs, are infe- 
rior even to the cabins of the farmers — the latter being 
larsfer and havinsf all the comforts of which such edifices 
are susceptible, while the former, more hastily erected by 
new settlers, who are often unaccustomed to this form of 
building, are scarcely superior to the lodge of the Indian. 
Stuck down upon the very edge of the road, without door- 
yards, or shade trees, with no attention to comfort or orna- 
ment, they form the most desolate and undesirable resi- 
dences which are to be found in the whole scope of our 
country — and it is from these specimens, that foreigners, as 
well as some of the gentlemen and lady tourists of our 
country, describe our western people, when in fact, but few 
of those to whom that name properly applies, dwell in vil- 



IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANTA. 159 

lages. But the genius of trade — an unostentatious, but a 
most munificent traveler, as he sweeps through the land, 
scatters gold broadcast, and his track is marked by the out- 
Vv'ard signs of opulence. Handsome churches and court 
houses, either in the Gothic or Grecian style, arc becoming 
common ; and genteel dwelling houses of brick or wood, 
painted white, and surrounded by trees and shrubbery, in- 
dicate an awakened spirit of improvement, with taste, and 
the desire for comfort; and give an air of rural beauty to 
many of these towns. We hope to see this taste still fur- 
ther cultivated, and to find the villages and towns cf our 
interior, which arc often beautifully situated, and surround- 
ed by attractive scenery and agricultural wealth, excelling 
a'so in embellishment and refinement. 

In Western Pennsylvania, the improvement, equally ob- 
servable throughout that great state, is very striking. I'lie 
summits and the precipitous sides of the Allegheny moun- 
tains, so bleak and forbidding in their aspect, contain a 
large population of industrious and enterprising farmers, 
who have occupied all the rich valleys and level spots, 
built good houses, and exhibit in the appearance of their 
farms a high state of agricultural progress. It is surprising 
to find so much labor bestowed upon places so unpromising, 
when the west abounds in the richest and most inviting 
lands. The difficulty of cultivating these mountain fields, 
and the disadvantnges, as we should esteem them, of their 
cold climate and secluded position, are compensated by the 
demand for agricultural products, created by the concourse 
of travelers and wagons which pass the mountain roads 
and bring the market to the farmer's door. 

As we proceed westward, from the mountains to Pitts- 
burgh or W^heeling, we traverse a hilJy region, which, in its 
natural state, seemed to bid defiance to the hand of industry 
and to the advance of civilization, interspersed with rich 
and beautiful valleys. We saw this country a few years 



160 WESTERN VIRGINIA. 

ago, when only the choice lands were under cultivation ; 
the precipitous and rocky hills were clothed with forests 
which seemed destined to be their permanent covering-. 
Substantia], though unsightly, houses of stone there were, 
and a few of brick, occupied as taverns and dwellings ; but 
the most common habitation was the log cabin. The ap- 
pearance of the country is now entirely changed. The hills 
which seemed so uninviting to rural enterprise, are denuded 
of timber and under fine cultivation. The loof-houses have 
given place to substantial, and, in many instances, to orna- 
mental edifices of brick and frame. Good fences, mead- 
ows, and orchards, abound, and the whole country ex- 
hibits a smiling and flourishing appearance. The roads 
are good. In this respect the policy of Pennsylvania has 
been exemplary. With a topography so mountainous and 
rugged as to present the most discouraging obstacles, she 
was the first state in the Union, to construct turnpike roads 
and canals, and was the munificent pioneer of the great 
system of internal improvement. I say nothing of the 
more recent policy of the state in regard to her expendi- 
tures or her debts ; her early example and labors, in devel- 
oping the magnificent mineral and agricultural treasures of 
her own interior, and in opening a way to the "sTest, deserve 
the lasting gratitude of the nation. The universal appro- 
bation which has attached to that beneficent policy is seen in 
the vast extent and success of the imitations in other states. 
in Western Virginia the want of roads for commerce, 
has checked the advance of agricultural improvement. If 
the noble project, now in contemplation, of a rail-road from 
Richmond to Guyandotte, connecting the Chesapeake Bay 
with the Ohio river, shall be carried out, that road will be 
extended from the Ohio across the rich valley of the Scioto, 
and the fertile plains south of it, to Cincinnati, and then 
Western Virginia will bloom as a garden — the enterprise 
of the sister state will be ingrafted on her people, emula- 



WESTERN' RESERVE — CENTRAL OHIO. 161 

tion will be kindled, and wealth will be i^oured into her 
lap, Virginia, famed for patriotism, talent, eloquence, and 
hospitality, will add industry and frugal economy to the 
list of her social virtues ; she will dia: wealth from her 
mines and her soil, and will no longer resemble the Roman 
Matron who was- rich in her sons, but whose sons were her 
only wealth. 

Leaving the Ohio at Beaver, thirty miles below Pitts- 
burgh, and traveling by canal thence to Warren, and from 
the latter place by stage to the beautiful city of Cleveland, 
w^e cross the Western Reserve, and see but little wilder- 
ness. The country is level, and the land fine, though not 
so rich as the soil in the southern and central districts of 
Ohio. The farmers are employed chiefly in grazing — 
large fields of grass are seen, and miuch cattle. The habi- 
tations are neat framed houses, painted white, with conve- 
nient out-houses, and the labor-saving contrivances which 
mark the residences of New England husbandmen. The 
villages are neat, but not populous. The ride is a pleasant 
one. and not laborious. 

As a specimen of the rich prairie lands of Ohio, the 
traveler might select the country lying adjacent to Urbana 
and Bellefontaine. Here he w^ould see a rolling or undu- 
lating surface, of unrivalled fertility, covered with great 
fields of wheat and Indian corn. In the season of harvest, 
when the wheat is ripe for the sickle, and the corn grow- 
ing towards maturity, the eye is delighted and the mind 
astonished, with the vast area that is covered with these val- 
uable products — with the fields of vast extent, joined to 
other fields of equal breadth, spreading out in every direc- 
tion, as far as the eye can reach, covered with the finest 
wheat, and the most magnificent corn, whose heavy and 
pendant ears show that a genial soil and climate have given 
to either grain its greatest exuberance of growth. Broad 
meadows and orchards are interspersed ; cattle, hogs, and 



162 THE MIAMI VALLEY. 

horses abound ; the farm-houses are commodious ; and tne 
intelligent traveler, as he proceeds mile after mile through 
these scenes, recognizes the evidences of a surpassing 
amount of agricultural wealth, industry, and comfort— the 
indications of an uncommonly productive country, and of 
a people far advanced in the progressive scale of improve- 
ment. 

Taking Cincinnati as a center, the signs of progress in 
the arts of industry are very satisfactory. Ascending the 
Miami Valley for a hundred miles, and embracing a wide 
expanse on either hand, a region of vast extent is presented, 
and of unsurpassed fertility. Level, or gently undulating, 
it is all arable, easily tilled, and capable of bearing im- 
mense crops in continued succession. A canal, draining 
its whole length, and several Macadamized turnpikes, all 
leading to the Ohio at Cincinnati, offer cheap facilities for 
transportation, and stimulate the energy of the farmer in 
the raising of agricultural products. Wheat, corn, hogs, 
and whisky, are the great staples, and are produced in al- 
most incredible quantities ; in addition to which the coun- 
try produces almost every thing that will grow in this cli- 
mate, among which are : horses, cattle, hemp, flax, oats, 
barley, beans, apples, butter, cheese, feathers, hay, onions, 
potatoes, &c. 

The improvements in this region are striking. The 
farming is in the best style of modern agriculture. There 
is not that close economy which is necessary where the 
lands are poor, and the tillage difficult, nor is the same at- 
tention and ingenuity requisite, in manuring the soil, and in 
observing nicely the proper rotation of crops ; but the farm- 
ers are laborious, and their grounds securely inclosed and 
well tilled. Orchards are numerous, and much of the fruit 
choice. The primitive habitations have given place to 
very handsome, and, in many instances, to elegant dwelling 
houses of brick, stone, and frame, surrounded by orna- 



HAMILTON DAYTON. 163 

mental trees, shrubbery, and fruit trees. Large barns indi- 
cate plenty and a liberal economy. Improved breeds of cat- 
tle and hogs are seen in the fields. All the indications are 
those of an advanced state of civilization — of a people tem- 
perate, energetic, and highly prosperous. 

The town of Hamilton is situated on the eastern bank 
of the Miami river, and Rossville on the western bank, 
twenty-one miles from Cincinnati. At Hamilton some en- 
terprising individuals have constructed hydraulic works, 
by throwing a dam across the Miami river, and bringing 
the water to the town by a canal about four miles in length. 
The canal is intended to convey 25,000 cubic feet of water 
per minute, and is of sufficient capacity to pass a volume of 
water, measuring in its cross section, 280 superficial feet, or 
70 feet average width by 4 feet deep. The fall is twenty- 
eight feet, and there is an aggregate of water power suffi- 
cient to run 166 pairs of mill stones. This is a magnifi- 
cent water power, and cannot fail to render this place the 
seat of numerous manufactories. Connected with Cincin- 
nati by the canal, and by a turnpike road, on which lines 
of omnibusses afford an easy form of transit to any num- 
ber of passengers, and with a rail-road in prospect which 
will soon be constructed ; situated in a country abounding 
in timber, stone, and other materials for building — a coun- 
try in which living is cheap, life secure, and every comfort 
easily attainable, the spot is peculiarly favorable for manu- 
facturing. Cincinnati can furnish cotton, wool, iron, and 
most other raw materials, as cheaply as any other place. 

These remarks may be applied, and some of them more 
strongly, to Dayton, a very beautiful city, the gem of the 
Miami Valley, situated fifty miles from Cincinnati, in the 
midst of a delightful farming country of the same general 
description as that which we have just noticed. This city 
is laid out upon a liberal scale, with fine wide streets, adorn- 
ed with many beautiful private residences ; and has already 



164 SPRINGFIELD — COLUMBUS. 

some fine public buildings. The court house, when fin- 
ished, will be a noble structure. The water power here, 
from the canal, and from Mad river, is abundant, and man- 
ufacturing- is already in full progress. The turnpike roads 
centering here are numerous, the surrounding country very 
attractive, and the farms highly improved. 

If we pursue the course of the canal northwardly, up 
the Miami Valley, to the flourishing towns of Troy and 
Piqua — or if we travel eastward, over a beautifully undula- 
ting prairie surface, to the pleasant town of Springfield, we 
find the same rich soil, the same high state of cultivation 
and improvement. And we no longer wonder at the pros- 
perity and rapid grow^th of Cincinnati, for although we 
have examined but one district of the vast area of which 
she is the center and emporium, we have traversed an ex- 
panse of country so broad, so rich, so well cultivated, as to 
be in itself capable of supporting a great metropolis. 

From Springfield to Columbus, lie wide prairies, more 
level than the lands we have passed, and in general not so 
desirable for cultivation, but still fine, and admirably adapt- 
ed to grass. Here are large grazing farms, and great herds 
of cattle. 

Columbus, the capital of the state, is finely situated on 
the bank of the Scioto, on a high rolling plain ; a beautiful 
town, embellished v.^ith many handsome dwellings, and 
some noble public institutions, and surrounded by a fine 
and well improved farming country. 

We shall allude to but one other region in Ohio. De- 
scending the left bank of the Scioto we pass Circleville, the 
site of the most curious remains of antique monuments, 
and reach the Pickaway plains where Dunmore was en- 
camped when he received the celebrated speech of Logan, 
and where we find vast farms, well improved, and stocked 
with fine cattle. Ross county is celebrated for its fine gra- 
zing farms, and its excellent stock. A number of gentle- 



SCIOTO VALLEY — CIIILLICOTHE. 165 

men here, have, for many years past, devoted themselves to 
the raising of cattle, and to the improvement of the breeds, 
by importation and otherwise. Their public spirited exer- 
tions have been eminently successful, not only in stocking 
their own pasture fields with beautiful and well blooded 
animals, but in awakening attention to this useful subject, 
and creating an emulation among the farmers for a consid- 
erable distance around. 

Chillicothe, the mart of this region, is a very attractive 
spot. It was a Virginia settlement, and one of the earliest 
in the state. Among its founders were many intelligent 
mid refined persons. The society of Chillicothe Avas al- 
ways good — the best, for many years, in the state; we arc 
not certain that it does not maintain its superiority, for re- 
finement, intelligence, and hospitality. It was the first cap- 
ital of Ohio. It is an interesting spot, from the numerous 
remains of Indian antiquities, in this vicinity, which seems 
to have been the seat of a dense population. The rich val- 
ley of Paint creek, which unites here with the Scioto, 
abounds in mounds, some of which are laro-e, and amono- 
the best developed of these curious structures now existing. 
The secret history of these receptacles of the past — the rec- 
ords of their authors and their uses, have thus far been 
sealed, and defied ail scrutiny and conjecture. But few of 
the circumstances, which have been related as facts con- 
cerning them, have been well authenticated ; and no rational 
solution of the mystery of their being and purpose, support- 
ed by evidence, has been published. Theories we have 
had, more or less ingenious, but not facts resulting from 
careful investigation. We are happy to be able to state 
that this subject has been ably and thoroughly explored re- 
cently, by two gentlemen of Chillicothe, in whom the pub- 
lic may place confidence — Dr. Davis and Mr. Squier. We 
have no personal acquaintance with the latter, but have 
long known the former, as a regular physician, and an hon- 



166 WHITEWATER VALLEY. 

orable and intelligent man. They have opened a great 
number of mounds, penetrated to their inmost parts, torn 
out their contents, and subjected them to the most patient 
and laborious examination. The results, which are said to 
be rich and curious, are to be given to the public in a forth- 
coming publication, which we hope will be cordially re- 
ceived, as we are satisfied that its contents will be as au- 
iientic, as they will be new, and will pour a flood of light 
"Upon this singular and mysterious page of history. 

The scenery here is very beautiful. The city stands upon 
a plain, in the bosom of a valley, margined by hills, whose 
elevated tops afford the finest views. Until within a few 
years past, there seems to have been but little enterprise 
among the inhabitants, and the city did not grow as rapidly 
as other places having equal advantages; but it has lately 
been increasing very fast in size and business. Its Vir- 
ginia origin is evident in more ways than one, and in no- 
thing more than the hospitable size of the dwellings, many 
of which are handsome, and surrounded by ornamental 
trees, yards, and gardens, which give a rural and attractive 
air to the place, and render it, when seen from a neighbor- 
ing eminence, embosomed in the valley, with the Scioto 
meandering round it, a very picturesque object. 

Our volume would be swelled to an inordinate size, if we 
should extend these descriptions to the various places in the 
West which are deserving of notice. In all the choice dis- 
tricts, where the land is particularly fine, or the market 
convenient, will be found substantial farms, and a good 
state of improvement. We rnight give, as an instance, the 
valley of the Whitewater, in Indiana, which is drained by 
a canal, extending from Cambridge city, on the National 
Toad, to Lawrenceburgh on the Ohio, with a branch to Cin- 
cinnati, the lenofth to either terminus beinq: somethinof over 
80 miles. This valley contains an area of 400 square miles, 
of land of the best quality; a territory the extent of which 



THE LAKE CITIES. 167 

is said to be greater by one-fourth than the Miami Valley, 
and ^vhich is well cultivated and yields a large amount of 
produce. 

The country lying adjacent to the beautiful city of Indi- 
anapolis ; the fine bottom lands of the Wabash near Vin- 
cennes, Terre Haute, Lafayette, &-c. ; the American Bot- 
tom in Illinois, and the rich counties of St. Clair, Madison/ 
Greene, Morgan, Sangamon, and the greater portion of the! 
Military Tract, in the same state — are all covered with sub- 
stantial farms, and valuable improvements. 

We intend to make no invidious distinction, in thus 
pointing out a few of the most attractive districts of the 
West, as affording examples of an advanced state of agri- 
cultural industry. There are many other tracts that are 
equally deserving of notice ; we have confined ourselves to 
such only as have attracted our personal attention. We 
have been in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan, but have 
never visited the interior of either; nor have we seen that 
lovely region of lakes and rivers in the far north-west, 
which so captivated the French topographer, Nicholet, and 
which he thought should be called the country of Undine. 

Those who had the gratification of attending the great 
Convention recently held at Chicago, were delighted, and, 
for the most part, surprised, at the evidences of commercial 
and agricultural wealth, exhibited by the beautiful cities of 
the Lake region. That interesting occasion drew together 
a vast concourse, from the neighboring states, and from the 
distant shores of the Atlantic. Eighteen states were rep- 
resented, and never was a more intelligent body assembled. 
Men of the most elevated position and distinguished talents — 
legislators, lawyers, and editors, of practiced ability in de- 
bate and with the pen, sat there in council with the mer- 
chant and the farmer; and while from the former, especi- 
ally the presiding officer in his inimitable valedictory, — we 
heard such eloquence as seldom falls from the lips of man, 



k 



1G8 MASS MEETINGS. 

in the latter we discovered an intelligent appreciation of 
that oratory which showed a high degree not only of com- 
mon sense, but of cultivated mind. While the western 
farmers appeared so advantageously in their personal de- 
portmentj the flourishing cities of Buffalo, Cleveland, De- 
troit, Mihvaukie, and Chicago, displayed unquestionable 
indications of large resources and active business, which 
showed that the agricultural regions which sustain them 
must be vast and most abundantly productive. 

The Mass meetings which were held in this country in 
the Presidential election canvass of 1840, may be quoted as 
affording further evidence of the respectibility of our farm- 
ing population. They were literally what the name given 
them purports — assemblages of the whole mass of the peo- 
ple. That which was held at Dayton, for instance, which 
was one of the largest, presented a most novel and pic- 
turesque spectacle. The number of people gathered there 
was variously estimated at from one hundred thousand to 
three hundred thousand souls. It was a vast and count- 
less concourse, the number of which cannot be ascertained, 
or even approximated ; though we are somewhat incredu- 
lous as to the figures which have been set down. For two 
or three days all the roads leading to the place were 
crowded with carriages, and horsemen, and pedestrian trav- 
elers. The city, which has very wide streets, and is spread 
over a large area, was crammed full of visitors; the sur- 
rounding plain, and the neighboring hills, were clad with 
a living and m.oving mass. Almost every house was 
thrown open to the rites of hospitality ; tables profusely 
spread were accessible to all, decked in every variety of 
taste, from the most elegant repast, down to the plainest and 
most substantial fare ; and every roof sheltered as many 
lodgers as could be crowded under it. The fat of the land 
was provided for the cherished guests ; all was free — with- 
out money and without price. The excitement, always at- 



FARMERS AND LABORERS. 169 

tendant upon the assemblage of great multitudes, and espe- 
cially by crowds brought together for party purposes, 
was intense. But it was evmced by the most joyous hilar- 
ity. There was no anger, no uproar, no violence. Good 
humor and order prevailed. 

It was a most curious sight — one which disarmed party 
spirit, and filled the bosom of the spectator with pleasura- 
ble sensations. The American who contemplated that 
mass of people, so respectable, so orderly, so intelligent, so 
substantial, forgot that they belonged to a party, and hailed 
them with pride as his countrymen. They bore distinctly 
but without ostentation, the marks of a people who were 
strangers to poverty and to oppression— a free, contented, 
manly people. No country of Europe, exhibiting the whole 
population of a district, could present such a spectacle. 
The farmers, the laborers, the mechanics, were all there, 
with their wives and children, their men-servants and maid- 
servants, and the strangers that sojourned with them — 
there they were, neat and well clad, with their honest faces 
lighted up with smiles. They came in wagons and car- 
riages drawn by sleek horses whose glossy coats showed 
their keeping. The large number of fine saddle horses, 
pleasure carriages, and well dressed people, among a con- 
course of which the great majority were actually farmers, 
was surprising. The whole spectacle was that of a peo- 
ple in easy circumstances, who lived well, and possessed the 
means and appliances of social enjoyment. They were no 
longer the pioneers of a new country, the hunters, and pas- 
toral farmers of the wilderness; but the owners and culti- 
vators of rich farms, and flocks and herds of well bred ani- 
mals—men who lived within the influence of the church 
and the school house, the bible and the newspaper. 

We shall close this chapter, with a list showing the im- 
ports into New Orleans, by way of the river Mississippi, 
during one year, including articles chiefly agricultural, and 



170 



PRODUCE or THE WEST. 



which will show the great variety, as well as the amount 
of our products. The reader will bear in mind that the 
whole of these articles are of the growth and production of 
the western states. 



VALUE OF PRODUCE OF THE INTERIOR. 
A Table showing the receipts of the principal articles from the interior, 
during the year ending 31 sf August, 1847, with their estimated average 
prices and total value. 



ARTICLES. 



Apples, barre 

Bacon, ass'd, hhds. and casks 

Bacon, assorted, boxes 

Bacon Hams, hhds, and trcs 

Bacon, in bulk .pounds 

Bagging, pieces 

Bale Rope, coils 

Beans, barrel 

Butter, , kegs and firkins 

Butter, barrels 

Beeswax, barrels 

Beef, barrel 

Beef, tierces 

Beef, dried, pounds 

Buffalo Robes, packs 

Cotton bales 

Corn Meal barrels 

Corn, in ear, barrels 

Corn, shelled, sacks 

Cheese, boxes 

Candles, boxes 

Cider, barrels 

Coal, Western, barrels 

Dried Apples and Peaches, barrels 

Feathers, bags 

Flaxseed, tierces 

Flour, barrels 

Furs, hhds. bundles and boxes, 

Hemp, bundles 

Hides, 

Hay, bundles 

Iron, pig, tons 

Lard, hhds. 

Lard, barrels and tierces 

Lard kegs 

Leather, bundles 

Lime, Western, barrels 

Lead, pjgg 



Amount. 


Aver- 


VALUE. 




age. 


Dollars. 


39612 


83 00 


118836 


28607 


60 00 


1716420 


8325 


30 00 


249750 


14518 


65 00 


943670 


425163 


6 


25509 


60982 


10 50 


640311 


56201 


6 00 


337206 


24336 


4 00 


98144 


51384 


5 00 


256920 


872 


20 Of) 


17440 


1109 


40 00 


44360 


32738 


10 00 


327.380 


21230 


16 00 


339680 


49000 


7 


3430 


55 


60 00 


3300 


740669 


44 00 


32589436 


88159 


3 50 


308505 


619576 


1 li) 


681533 


2386510 


2 00 


4773020 


57429 


3 50 


201001 


8496 


3 50 


29736 


477 


3 OJ 


1431 


35650n 


75 


267375 


8S70 


2 50 


21925 


3498 


25 0(1 


87450 


962 


9 00 


8658 


1617675 


5 50 


8897213 


328 





600000 


60238 


15 00 


903570 


9834-2 


1 23 


122927 


95231 


3 00 


285693 


1151 


30 00 


345.30 


143 


SO 00 


11440 


117077 


23 00 


2692771 


275076 


4 00 


1100304 


3716 


•20 00 


74320 


5994 


1 00 


5994 


650129 


2 75) 


1787854 



PRODUCE or THE WEST. 



171 



TABLE — Continued. 



ARTICLES. 



Lead, bar, kegs and boxes 

Molasses, (estimated crop) gallons 

Oats, barrels and sacks 

Onions, , barrels 

Oil, Linseed, barrels 

Oil, Castor, barrels 

Oil, Lard, barrels 

Peach Brandy barrels 

Potatoes, barrels 

Pork, barrels 

Pork, hhds. 

Pork, in bulk, pounds 

Porter and Ale, barrels 

Packing Yarn, reels 

Skins, Deer, packs 

Skins, Bear, packs 

Shot, kegs 

Soap, boxes 

Staves, M 

Sugar, (estimated crop,) hhds. 

Spanish Moss, bales 

Tallow, .barrels 

Tobacco, Leaf, hhds. 

Tobacco, Strips, hhds. 

Tobacco, Chewing, kegs and boxes, 

Tobacco, bales 

Twine bundles and boxes 

Vinegar, barrels 

Whisky, barrels 

Window Glass, boxes 

Wheat barrels and sacks 

Other various articles — estimated at. . 

* TOTAL VALUE— Dollars 

Total in 1845-46— 
Total in 1 844-45— 
Total in 1843-44— 



Amount. 



1291 

6000000 

5b8337 

7185 

3637 

1439 

2573 

72 

142888 

302170 

9452 

8450700 

1363 

2193 

1784 

71 

3992 

4361 

2000 

140000 

5990 

6658 

44588 

11000 

39.S9 

1001 

1334 

1059 

126553 

3805 

833649 



Aver- 
age. 



15 00 

24 

90 

2 00 

2-) 00 

■20 00 

22 00 

16 00 
2 00 

12 00 

40 00 

6 

7 50 

5 00 

20 00 

15 00 

18 00 



60 
00 



70 00 
4 00 

20 00 

55 00 
$100 

12 50 



00 
00 
00 



10 00 



00 
30 



VALUE. 

Dollars. 

19365 

1440000 

529503 

14370 

72740 

28780 

56936 

1152 

285776 

3626040 

378080 

507042 

10222 

10965 

35680 

1065 

71856 

11338 

50000 

9800000 

2.3960 

133160 

2452340 

1100000 

49125 

3003 

9338 

4236 

1265530 

15220 

1917392 

5500000 



90033256 
77193464 
57199122 
60094716 



172 GARDEN VEGETABLES, 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Garden Vegetables — Wood and Timber. 

With respect to garden vegetables, we speak from ex- 
perience. The writer of this article, spent most of his 
leisure hours, for several years, in the cultivation of a large 
garden : and the remarks now submitted, are the result of 
careful observation. A very voluminous western writer 
has said, that " under this powerful sun, all the roots and 
vegetables are more tasteless than those of the north. It 
is instanily perceived that the onion is more mild, the blood 
beet less deeply colored; and this thing holds good, as far 
as my experience goes, in the whole vegetable creation. 
Take every thing into consideration, this is not so good a 
country for gardens." "Cabbages and peas, owing to the 
burning heat of the sun, and the dryness of the seasons, 
are inferior in quality and abundance." 

It is to be remarked, that horticulture is an art which is 
seldom carried to any degree of perfection, except in 
populous and wealthy neighborhoods. The finest gar- 
dens are always found in the vicinity of large cities. 
Farmers have no time to expend in furnishing their tables 
with mere luxuries. Nothing requires more unremitting 
care, or more severe labor, than a garden ; they are, 
therefore, usually found in the possession of wealthy 



GARDEN VEGETABLES. I73 

men, who keep them, at great expense, for amusement, 
or under the care of gardeners, who cultivate them for 
the purpose of supplying the markets. There are other 
persons, who combine economy with enjoyment, in de- 
voting some time to horticulture ; but all these classes of 
individuals exist, chiefly, in countries where luxury and 
taste prevail, to a considerable extent, or where provi- 
sions are so costly, as to make their production a matter 
of importance. In these cases, gardening is pursued as 
an elegant and useful art ; and is advanced, step by step, 
to its greatest degree of perfection. Soil and climate, it 
is true, are the most important agents in the rearing of 
fine vegetables ; but these luxuries are, after all, mainly 
produced by the wealth, the labor, and the ingenuity of 
man. In new countries, therefore, they are not to be ex- 
pected. Few persons here, we might almost say none, 
have money or leisure to expend in matters of taste and 
luxury. Farmers, especially, are apt to commit this de- 
partment to the females of their household, whose other 
cares allow them to devote to it but little care. We plead 
guilty then, as a general fact, of having bad gardens. 
But we by no means admit, that our vegetables are defi- 
cient, either in abundance or quality, when proper care is 
paid to their culture. We know that the contrary is true. 
The simple fact is, that our country teems with the boun- 
ties of nature in such rich profusion, that the people, not be- 
ing obliged to labor to supply their tables, are apt to grow 
careless. They put their seed in the ground, and trust 
to providence to give the increase. Their garden grounds 
are not only badly prepared, and as badly attended, but 
the seeds are selected without any care. The reason, 
therefore, why, as a general fact, the art of horticulture 
has been brought to but little perfection at the west, 1^ 
evident. 

But when it is said, that the vegetables of this country 

ate inferior in quality, we come to another question, to 
p2 



174 GARDEN VEGETABLES. 

decide which, it is proper to refer to the cases in which 
they have been subjected to a sufficient degree of culture. 
Almost every farmer here, raises cabbages, and we are 
sure that we have never seen larger or better^ A hun- 
dred heads are sold in Illinois for a dollar and fifty cents. 
The parsnips and carrots of this country are remarkable 
for their size, sweetness, and flavor ; the former, especial- 
ly, have a richness, which we have never noticed else- 
where. Our beets are as delicate and sweet as is possible ; 
and we only forbear stating a fact, with regard to their size, 
which has come to our knowledge, from the fear of startling 
the credulity of our readers. Peas are excellent, and very 
prolific. We have seen radishes three inches in thick- 
ness, and perfectly solid, mild, and crisp. Our lettuce, 
if well dressed, (there is a great deal in that) is capital. 
The tomato, is common all through this country. It is 
only necessary to plant it once, after which, it comes up 
every year spontaneously; and bears abundantly, from 
the middle of the summer, until nipped by the frost. 
Thousands of bushels of onions have been raised with 
no other labor, than sov^ing the seed broadcast, in new 
ground ; and as to their quality, it would do the heart of 
a Wethersfield lady good to look at them. That goodly 
town of Connecticut would be depopulated, if its worthy 
inhabitants could see the onion-fields of Morgan county, 
and the military tract, in Illinois. We might enumerate 
other articles, but it is enough to say that, in general, the 
vegetables suited to our climate, are produced in their 
greatest perfection. It would, indeed, be an anomaly in 
the economy of nature, if garden plants did not flourish 
vigorously, in a soil of unrivaled depth, fertility, and 
freshness. 

The vegetable market at Cincinnati is one of the finest 
in the world. At Pittsburgh, Louisville, St. Louis, and 
other large towns where the encouragement is sufficient 
to induce the raising of vegetables for market, they are 

M 3 



FLORAL CALENDAR. ^J^ 

equal in size and flavor, to those of the eastern cities, 
though the variety of kinds is not so great. At the ta- 
bles of gentlemen in every part of Kentucky, the profu- 
sion and excellence of the vegetables, is such as to afford 
a subject of remark to the observant traveler. We are 
well satisfied that a careful examination of this subject 
v^^ould shov/, that the horticultural productions- of the west, 
are in general superior in size, delicacy, and flavor, to 
those of any other part of the United States. 

We subjoin a table of average dates, extracted from 
Dr. Drake's admirable Picture of Cincinnati, which will 
enable practical men to form a tolerably accurate idea of the 
progress and decay of vegetation, within our season. 

FLORAL CALENDAR. 

March 5. Commons becoming green. 

" 6. Buds of water maple beginning to open. 

" 6. Buds of lilac beginning to open. 

" 7. Buds of weeping willow beginning to open, 

" 8. Buds of gooseberry beginning to open. 

" 12. Buds of honey-suckle beginning to open. 

*' 26. Buds of peach tree beginning to open. 

" 26. Radishes, peas, and tongue grass planted in the open 
air. 
April 8. Peach tree in full flower. 

" 8. Buds of the privet beginning to open. 

*' 15. Buds of the cherry tree beginning to open. 

" 15. Red currants beginning to flower. 

" 18. Buds of the flowering locust beginning to open, 

« 18. Lilac in full flower. 

*' 20. Apple tree in full flower. 

" 24. Dogwood in full flower. 
May 9. Flowering locust in full bloom. 

" 12. Indian corn planted. 

" 12. Honey-suckles beginning to flower. 
June 4. Cherries beginning to ripen. 

" 4. Raspberries beginning to ripen. 

" 6. Strawberries beginning to ripen. 

" 6. Red currants beginning to ripen. 

" 24. Hay Harvest. 
July 4. Rye harvest begun. 

" 10. Wheat harvest begun. 

" 12. Blackberries ripe. 



176 WOOD jSiD TIMBER. 

July 15. Unripe corn in market. 

" 18. Indian corn generally in flower. 

" 21. Oat harvest. 

dug. 5. Peaches in market. 

Sept. 20. Forest becoming- variegated. 

Oct. 25. Indian corn gathered. 

" 30. Woods leafless. 

For the purpose of comparison, we add a few memo- 
randa made by the writer at Vandalia, Illinois, in the 
spring of 1830. 

dpril 1. Peach trees in bloom. 

2. Asparagus fit for the table. 

3. Peas, beans, and onions planted. 

6. Heart's ease and violets in bloom. 

7. Beets, carrots, parsnips, and other roots planted. 
10. Spring had completely opened ; and the prairies were 

green. Gooseberry and currant bushes in bloom, 

15. Cabbage plants transplanted. 

18. Lilac in bloom — strawberry vines in bloom. 

19. A great variety of wild flowers in full bloom. 

20. Nearly all our garden seeds had been planted. 
25. Raspberries in bloom. 

27. Lettuce, radishes, pepper-grass, &c. fit for use, 

30. Roses and honey-suckles in full bloom. 

I make no apology for adding, more at large, the fol- 
lowing valuable remarks, in reference to the spring season 
of 1836, furnished in a letter to me, from my friend Dr. 
Clap of New Albany, Indiana. 

"Vegetation has been later, especially in the fore part 
of the month (April) than has ever been known by the 
oldest inhabitants. From the 22nd to the end of the month, 
the weather was very open and pleasant ; the thermometer 
ranging, in the hottest part of the day, from 75 to 85. 

*' The latitude of New Albany, according to the land 
surveys is 38 deg. 12 min. north, though stated different- 
ly in some publications. The elevation of the second 
bank, at the court house, by the actual survey of engineers 
employed by the state, is 426 feet above the tide water 
of Hudson river. It is on this bank the greater part of 



FLORAL CALENDAR. 177 

the plants mentioned are found. On the west of the town 
rises a range of hills called the knobs running nearly due 
north, elevated about 500 feet, and beyond which the 
country is generally elevated up wards of 300 feet above the 
Ohio bottoms, and the vegetation some days later than on 
the river shore. I have been thus particular, deeming it 
essential to an accurate understanding of the progress of 
vegetation. Many floral calendars are of little value for 
comparison, in consequence of the want of detail in re- 
ference to elevation and local causes, as well from gener- 
al carelessness. 

" Professor Bigelow, who is remarkable for his general 
accuracy, in his observations on the peach tree in differ- 
ent places, concludes that vernal flowering varies four 
days for each degree of latitude. The peach in this vi- 
cinity however, varies more in its time of flowering in 
diflerent years than any of our native forest trees, or even 
our indigenous herbaceous plants. The diflerence be- 
tween the present year and 1834- — no record having been 
kept by me of 1835 — was 27 days for the peach, while 
other trees and herbaceous plants varied from 15 to 21 days. 

"The foliation of the beech is probably one of the 
best standards of comparison between diflferent places. It 
is more diffused, and adds more to the verdure of the 
forest, than any other tree, and the structure of its buds 
is such, that they continue to swell and elongate without 
the least appearance of verdure, until the moment they 
expand, when the largest leaves are nearly an inch in 
length, and frequently grow more than an inch per day, 
for some time. 

" From a hasty examination of calendars of vegetation, 
at Deerfield and Plainfield, Mass., the German Flats, N. 
York, and Philadelphia, it appears probable that Profes- 
sor Bigelow's estimation of four days for each degree of 
latitude, is not high enough, especially between the west- 
ern and eastern states. Although the mean temperature 



178 



FLORAL CALENDAR. 



is said to be the same for the corresponding parallels of 
latitude on both sides of the Alleghenies, the season is 
probably earlier in the western states, the soil and eleva- 
tion being the same. The subject, however, requires 
some years of careful observation to obtain the proper 
data for comparison. 

" The earliest appearance of the flowers is the time 
noted in the following table unless otherwise stated. The 
plants enumerated are not all that were observed but those 
only that had just bloomed at the time of observation. 

April 1836. 



2d 

4th 

5th 

9th 

(( 

10th 

12th 
13th 



a 
14th 



16th 



17th 
19th 
20th 
21st 

22d 

(( 



Elm, 

Red Maple, 

Rice Anemone, 
Spring Beauty, 
Spice bush, 
Shepherds purse, 



■] 



Ulmus Americana. 
Acer Riihriim. 
Erigenia Bulhosa, 
Jinemo ne Thalictro ides, 
Claytonia Virginica. 
Laiirus Benzoin. 
Thlaspi Bursa pastoris. 
Ranunculus abortivus. 
Luzula Campesiris. 
Salix Grisea. 



Grey Willow, 

White flowered Ad 
der's tongue. 

Blue violet. 

Yellow do. 

Ground Ivy, 

Mouse ear cress, 

Wild Sweet William, 

Calico Weed, 

Chick weed, 

Yellow flowered Ad- 
der's tongue, 

American water cress, 

Greek Valerian, 

Peach trees, (begin- 
ning to blossom) 

Red Currants, 

Dandelion, 

Morello cherry, var. of 

Flowering Almond, 

Peach trees in full bloom. 

Sassafras, _ Laurus Sassafras. 

Red bud, Cercis Canadensis. 

Ragwort, Senecio Mirea. 



Eryihro7iium Alhidum, 

Viola Cucullata. 
" puhcscens. 
GlecJioma hederacea, 
Arabis ThaUana. 
Phlox divaricata. 
Diclytra cucularia. 
Stellaria media. 

ErytJironium Americanum, 

Cardamine Virginica. 
Polemonium reptans. 

Amy gdalus Persica. 

Rihes Rubrum. 
Leontodon Taraxacum. 
Prunus cerasus. 
Amygdalus nana. 



WOOD AND TIMBER. 179 

22d Plaintain endweed, Gnaphalium pinntaginum, 

*' Stellaria puhera. 

23d Lungwort, Fulmonaria Virginica. 

24th Apple tree, (beginninjT ") , 

to flower) 3 

** Thyrne leaved speedwell, Feromca serpyllifolia. 

" Morello cherry in full bloom. 
25th The forest becoming green, caused mostly by the leafing 
of the beech. 

** Crane's bill, Geranium Tnaculatum. 

*' Dogwood, Cornus Florida. 

Note. The white involucrum expanded, the inner and proper petals were 
not unfolded until 8 days later. 

26th Violet wood sorrel, Oxalis Violacia. 

Ranunculus runcuvatus. 
Viola Striata. 
Crataegus coccinea. 
Syringa vulgaris. 
Esculus pallida, 
Phalangium escuhntum. 
Iris cristata. 
Vaccinium resinosum, 
Thalidrum dioicum. 
Hydrophyllum Virginicum* 
Leojitin Thalidroides. 
Podophyllum pcltatum, 
Cerastium vulgatum. 

In so vast a region, comprising a vast amount of timber, 
there is of course, a great variety in the species and qua- 
lity of that production. The most common kinds are oak, 
hickory, ash, poplar, cotton wood, walnut, sugar maple, 
beech, sycamore, buckeye, gum, cypress, cherry, locust, 
peccan. 

Cedar and pine are abundant in the northern regions 
of some of the tributaries of the Ohio and Mississippi, 
but are not found in quantities sufficient to be rendered 
useful, within what may be properly termed the western 
country. Large quantities of lumber, suitable for build- 
ing, are prepared on the Allegheny river, and on some of 
the higher tributaries of the Mississippi, from the cedar 
and pine of those higher latitudes, and floated in rafts to 
the more southern districts ; by which means all tlie 



(( 


Striped Violet, 


27th 


Thornbush, Red Haw, 


(( 


Lilac, 


(( 


Foetid buckeye, 




Quamansh, 


29th 


Black Whortleberry, 


(( 


Meadow rice. 


(( 


Barr flower, 


(( 


Blue wort, 


SOth 


May Apple, 


(i 


Mouse ear chick weed. 



IgO WOOD AND TIMBER. 

shores of llie Ohio and Mississippi are well supplied with 
the best description of scantling, plank, and shingles. 

The several varieties of the oak are found in almost 
every pari of our country. The heavy timbers for house 
and ship building, are made of this wood ; it is converted 
into flooring, and other descriptions of heavy plank ; and 
is used in many manufactures of which wood is the ma- 
terial. It is also a very general and excellent material for 
fuel ; and is used by the farmer in fencing, for rails, posts, 
and plank. There are few localities in which it is not 
found, nor is there any timber so extensively useful. 

The ash is also an excellent wood both for fuel and for 
plank ; it is very abundantly distributed over the whole 
country, and is much used for a variety of purposes. 

Many varieties of tlifi hickory are spread through the 
whole region. This is considered our best wood for fuel 
for domestic purposes, but has little other value. The 
farmers use it for fence rails, but it is neither so easily 
split, nor so durable as oak or ash. 

The black M-alnut and cherry are hard fine grained 
woods, used chiefly by cabinet makers, and are sufficient- 
ly abundant for the purposes to which they are applied. 

Poplar is abundant in some districts, but is not preva- 
lent in the southern parts of the region under description. 

The black locust, on account of its durability, is ex- 
tremely valuable for posts, or for any purpose w^iere the 
capacity of resisting the action of moisture is required. 

The sugar maple is found on our richest soils, both in 
the upland and bottoms, and is a valuable timber inde- 
pendently of the rich product which it yields to the sugar 
maker. The season for making the sugar is in February 
— when the cold frosty nights begin to be succeeded by 
clear warm days. 

The Cottonwood resembles the poplar in appearance 
and texture, and is found chiefly in low alluvion lands, 
and on the margins of rivers, where it grows to an im^ 



i 



WOOD AN© TIMBER. {g[ 

mense size. The young groves shoot up with uncommon 
rapidity, and are highly ornamental to the banks which 
they cover; but the wood is of little value. 

The sycamore is seen towering to a great height on the 
margins of our rivers ; but is fortunately not abundant in 
other localities, as it is entirely useless ; as are also the 
gum, and the buckeye. 

The cypress, which is found only in the immense 
swamps of the southern part of this region, is a white soft 
wood, which is used for making shingles, and for various 
kinds of wooden vessels which are made by the cooper 
or turner. 

The peccan is found only at a few points on the Ohio 
and Wabash near the junction of those rivers, and on the 
Mississippi near its confluence with the Kaskaskia. It 
yields a rich delicious nut, which is highly prized, and 
of which a few hundred bushels have been annually 
gathered and shipped to New-Orleans. The tree resem- 
bles the hickory in appearance, and is of that family. 

The oak, the hickory, the beech, and the walnut, afford 
a prodigious quantity of nuts and acorns, which form the 
chief part of the mast, upon which the immense droves 
of hogs are subsisted and reared in our forests. 

The large quantity of wood used by the steam boats, 
has made this an article of active and extensive sale, and 
will very shortly render all the lands bordering on the 
navigable rivers extremely valuable. The consumption 
of wood is already so great, that the supply is barely 
sufficient to meet it, and at some points it is wholly in- 
adequate. The boats are every year increasing rapidly in 
number, and we knoM- of no branch of business in which 
the farmer could engage more profitably, than in supply- 
ing them with fuel. There is scarcely an acre of un- 
cleared land bounded by the river which will not yield 
100 cords of wood — many will yield 150 cords — but ex- 
perienced men consider the average product 100 cords to 



182 WOOD AND TIMBER. 

The acre, including only such wood as is suitable for steam 
boats. The price varies from $2 to $3 per cordj accor- 
ding to the locality, season, scarcity, &c,, so that taking 
$2,50 per cord as the average, the product of an acre of 
woodland would be as follows : 

100 cords of wood at $2.50 • - $250 

Deduct for cutting 50 cents per cord, $50 
hauling 25 " " " 25 

other labor 25 " '« " 25=100 

Clear gain, $150 

The price at which such land may be purchased, cannot 
be stated with any precision, as it would vary according to 
circumstances. But little of the most valuable land on the 
large rivers remains in the hands of the government ; and 
the private owners have become sensible of its value. 
Such however is the great variety of soil, situation, and 
other particulars, that a purchaser may suit himself at any 
price, from $1,25 per acre, to $100 per acre. 

The best kinds of wood for steam boats are oak, beech, 
and ash. Cottonwood affords a lively fire, but burns away 
too fast. Hickory, which is the best fuel for culinary pur- 
poses, is useless for steam boats, on account of the quantity 
of coals with which it fills the furnaces. The wood for 
steam boats is required to be split fine, and kept until per- 
fectly dry. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Domestic Animals. 

The west is the paradise of domestic animals. The 
climate is suitable to. the horse, the cow, the hog, and the 
sheep ; their food is plentifully spread over the whole wide 
expanse of country ; the cheapness of land, and the thin- 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 183 

ness of the population, allow the cultivators to occupy 
laro^e farms; while extensive tracts of land remain unin- 
closed, affording an abundance of wild, pasturage. There 
is room therefore for the animal to roam and feed. 

In those parts of the country which lie distant from 
navigable waters, and are not intersected by railroads or 
canals, agricultural products are of but little value. Heavy 
articles, such as corn and hay, will not bear distant trans- 
portation by wagon, and the farmer would get nothing for 
his labor but an independent and plentiful livelihood, if it 
were not that his flocks and herds may be driven to market. 
In this shape his grass and grain may be consumed and 
converted into money. 

In those vast districts, constituting the greater portion of 
all the new states, which lie distant from the cities and 
larger towns, very small portions, comparatively, of the 
whole surface are occupied by farms — immense tracts of 
wilderness form the remainder. The population of these 
portions of the country, are rather pastoral than agricultural. 
Without a market at hand, they have no inducement to 
raise grain beyond the demand for home consumption ; 
and they have no stimulant to industry or ingenuity, in 
regard to a multitude or a variety of products. Their own 
tables, thoiJgh abundantly spread, are simple and easily 
furnished. Beef, pork, poultry, game, wheat, corn, pota- 
toes, milk and wild honey, form the staples for food. Lit- 
tle else is raised. The cattle, hogs, and horses, roam at 
large in the woods, and upon the prairies, where for eight 
months in the year they find an abundant supply of food. 
Here are no epicures to devour the tender veal and the 
delicate pig — the young are all reared. These are the 
great nurseries, the vast sources of supply, for the more 
thickly settled parts of the country. The drovers go 
thither annually to purchase cattle, which they drive into 
the older settlements, where they are fatted for market. 



184 THE HOG. 

Thus the cattle of Illinois, and Missouri, are driven into 
Ohio, where they are turned into rich pasture fields, and fed 
with grain until they become fat, when they find a market 
at Cincinnati, or are driven across the mountains. 

Of all domestic animals, the hog is decidedly the most 
numerous and useful. The meat constitutes a chief article 
of food, and is chiefly used fresh, or in the form of bacon. 
The immense droves of hogs which are raised would seem 
incredible to those who are not familiar with the facts. 
They are reared most extensively in those districts which 
are thinly settled, and where they can roam at large over 
wide tracts of forest. During the spring and summer, the 
owner pays them no further attention than to look after 
them occasionally, to ascertain the range they frequent, 
and to identify his property by marking the recent litters 
by cutting the ears. Every farmer has a separate mark, 
which is recorded in a book kept by the county clerk, and 
the laws denounce severe penalties upon those who cut off 
the ears, or alter the marks of the cattle or the hogs of 
others. 

In the frontier countries, where all the stock run at large 
in the woods and over the great prairies, where the wealth 
of the farmer consists chiefly in his numerous herds, and 
the value of domestic animals is very small, the practice 
of stealing them is not uncommon. There are in such 
localities many loose individuals, who live chiefly by 
hunting, and it seems to be the instinct of hunters in all 
countries, to consider that whatever runs wild in the woods, 
is equally fair game. The code of morals of those who 
dwell in the forest, and live by the gun, is very elastic. 
The light hold of the owner upon property thus roaming at 
large, and which he sees only at distant intervals, the im- 
punity with which a trespass upon it may be committed, 
and the insignificance of the loss if discovered, render the 
temptition to commit such offenses very strong, and the 



HOGS. 1 85 

risk small. But although the loss is trifling, it is a source 
of extreme irritation to the farmer, and a large proportion 
of the feuds, the actions for trespass, and the indictments in 
the courts of new counties, grow out of such practices. 

It sometimes happens that the number of such depreda- 
tors, in a neighborhood, is considerable ; and while the 
pioneer farmers, the owners of stock, themselves a frugal 
and honest race, are indisposed to notice such trespasses so 
long as they occur but occasionally, the rogues become 
bold from their numbers and from impunity. An open 
rupture is the consequence ; indictment and civil suits pour 
in upon the courts; slanders, and assaults and batteries, 
swell the list; and if, at last, the arm of justice is found 
too weak to enforce the desired reformation, a regulating 
party is formed, and the stealers of hogs driven by force 
from their haunts. 

An amusinof incident, gfrowino: out of this state of thing-s, 
occurred once to the writer, while acting in an official ca- 
pacity, in court, in a retired part of Illinois. In delivering 
the charge to the grand juiy, it was thought expedient to 
dwell on a long list of statutary offenses concerning hogs, 
such as stealing them, cutting off their ears, altering the 
marks, &c. In the midst of this grave harangue, we 
were interrupted by the foreman of the grand jury, a justice 
of the peace and member of the legislature, who having 
come into the box fresh from the body of the people, and 
having probably spent the morning in treating and being 
treated quite freely, felt himself uncommonly patriotic and 
communicative. Rising, and bowing to the court very 
respectfully, he said, " May it please your honor, the sub- 
ject of hugs, in this country, is a very delicate subject — the 
less said about it the better. It's no use to hurt feelings." 

In the autumn, when the mast falls, the hogs fatten 

rapidly, and grow very large. But although they become 

prodigiously fat upon the wild nuts, they are not then in a 

Q 2 



186 HOGS. 

condition to be killed for market, as the meat, and especi- 
ally the fat of mast fed hogs, is soft, oily, and iinsuited for 
curing, though not deficient in sweetness or flavor for 
present use. They are, therefore, taken home in the 
autumn, and fed on corn for five or six weeks, in which 
time the flesh becomes solid, and the lard white and firm. 
They are then driven to some of the towns on the rivers, 
where they are slaughtered and prepared for market. 

The following remarks are extracted from an excellent 
article in the Cincinnati Gazette, published in March, 1843. 

"The district of country in the West devoted to the 
raising of pork as an article of commerce, includes Ohio, 
Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and a part of 
Tennessee; but the bulk of the business is done within a 
circle of three hundred miles in diameter, with Cincinnati 
as its center, including the contiguous parts of Ohio, 
Kentucky and Indiana. Hogs are, however, frequently 
driven to this market from a distance of two hundred 
miles, as, notwithstanding large numbers are killed at vari- 
ous places in the Wabash and Miami Valleys, at Madison, 
la., Portsmouth, Chillicothe, &c., this business will con- 
centrate in the largest cities, where labor, salt, barrels, and 
other facilities are naturally most abundant. In a popu- 
lous city, also, the steaks, spare-ribs, &c., not used in pack- 
ing, can always be disposed of for cash, without loss ; and 
in this city, also, if any where in the West, active cash 
capital is always found." 

"In the above district, the number of hogs prepared for 
market this season will not fall short of 500,000, (and this 
is not a larger number than usual) besides the vast amount 
retained for domestic consumption. Of this number, 
250,000 are probably packed in Cincinnati — 150,000 more 
will probably come here for a market, or re-shipment — and 
100,000 more maybe set down as the estimate for those 
that will be shioped from various other towns on the river, 



PORK PACKING. 187 

without being landed here. Of the above number, 75,000 
are raised in the Wabash Valley alone." 

"Our hogs are fed on corn exclusively. They are never 
'^ fed on mutton^^ as an English nobleman lately stated at 
an Aofricultural Fair. The stock is well crossed with im- 
ported animals from Europe, of the various Chinese, Irish, 
English, and Russian breeds, and is probably exceeded by 
none in the United States. Hogs have been raised here 
wei2:hin2f over 1200 lbs., but the average wei2:ht runs from 
200 to 250 pounds — the latter size being the most desi- 
rable." 

" In Kentucky, the drovers frequently buy the hogs alive 
of the farmers by gross weight, as is sometimes the case in 
Ohio and Indiana. But generally the farmers club together 
(each one having his hogs marked) and drive them to mar- 
ket themselves in droves of 500 to 1000, and seldom less 
than 500, except in the immediate vicinity of the city. Du- 
ring the first day or two, the hogs cannot well travel more 
than 4 to 6 miles ; but after that they travel 8, and some- 
times 10 miles per day, depending upon the condition of 
the roads. The Berkshires are said to be the best trav- 
elers." 

As Cincinnati is the great market for pork, as well as all 
other articles of provisions, we shall extract from the same 
article the following interesting particulars : 

"We now propose to follow the hog into the city, and 
describe the manner in which he is cut, packed, and finally 
shipped to a market. This naturally involves the descrip- 
tion of a Cincinnati Pork House ; and for this purpose we 
have selected that at the corner of Sycamore street and the 
Canal, for many years occupied by Mr. Duffield, where 
he cured his justly celebrated Westphalia Hams." 

" The Pork House in question is one of the largest and 
most perfectly arranged in the world. It is 159 feet long 
and 92 wide, 3 stories high above the cellar, with two Lard 



188 PORK PACKING 

Rooms, each having 4 lard kettles of 100 gallons each, one 
Lard Press, and 3 Coolers, holding from 300 to 500 gal- 
lons each. It contains also two Smoke Houses, 30 by 40 
feet, three and a half stories high, with cellars 12 feet deep, 
each one capable of containing 400,000 lbs. meat to smoke 
at one time ; and during one season, each can be filled five 
times, thus smoking within four months 4,000,000 lbs. of 
meat." 

" The building stands immediately on the Miami 
Canal ; two sides of the house bound on the Canal, 
which here makes an elbow, thus enabling boats to 
unload on both sides into the house ; the other two sides 
of the building are upon the street, and, from its favor- 
able grade, the floors of both the first and second stories 
are so arranged as to be commanded by drays, which are 
driven in to load and unload, thus saving a vast deal of 

labor." 

" In this house, every thing is done under cover, in all 

kinds of weather. From its vast extent, there is no neces- 
sity of rolling barrels out of doors for pickling, or any other 
purpose. It is capable of disposing or stowing 25,000 
hogs in one season of four months, and not go out of doors 
for any thing." 

I "At the risk of being considered tedious, we have sub- 
joined many particulars in regard to this leading business 
of our city. Although the facts are familiar to every one 
here, they may interest distant readers." 

" The history of the Pork business in this city is interest- 
ing, when one contemplates its present magnitude. Twen- 
ty years since, we are told, it was so insignificant, that no 
one house was engaged in it exclusively, and the whole 
number of hogs then cut in one season, did not exceed 
10,000. At that period, the hogs were killed (as isolated 
farmers now kill them in the country) out of doors, and 
then hung upon a pole. The butchers charged the farm- 



AT CINCINNATI. 189 

I 

er 121 to 20 cents per head for killing them, retaining the 
offal as at present. From this insignificant beginning, the 
business has increased so that the number of hogs killed 
this year will probably reach a quarter of a million, and the 
butchers now frequently pay 10 to 25 cents premium per 
head for the privilege of killing them. And instead of a 
few houses incidentally engaged in the business a part of 
the year, there are now 26 Pork Houses exclusively en- 
gaged in it, and ^vhich use a capital of nearly Two Mil- 
lions of Dollars, which, by the way, has been mostly for- 
eign this season, owing to the disasters of the last three 
years." 

"Having reached some of the extensive Slaughtering Es- 
tablishments in the neighborhood of the city, a bargain is 
made with the butchers to kill and dress them, which is 
done for their offal, and the hogs, after being dressed, are 
also carted into town at the expense of the butcher. But 
as we have described all the minuti^ of this part of the 
business in the Gazette of the 3d inst , we here omit it." 

"The hog is bought by the Pork Packer, completely dress- 
ed by the Butcher, and delivered at the Pork House. The 
first thing is to weigh him. He is then passed to a block 
8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 2 feet high from the floor, at 
which two Cutters stand, one on each side of the block, and 
each armed with an exceedingly sharp cleaver, about 2 feet 
long, and 6 inches wide. Two other men pass up the hog 
on to the block, placing him upon his side. One Cutter 
cuts off the head, the other the hams, each at a single 
stroke. The hams are passed to the Ham Trimmer at an 
adjacent table, who trims them ready for salting. The 
head is sometimes sold to the Soap Boiler, in which case it 
is thrown into a heap near the door, to be handy for him — 
at other times it is used in making Prime Pork, and is then 
passed to a hand to split, clean, and wash, ready for the 
Packer. The sides and shoulders, still left on the block. 



190 rORK PACKING. 

are split in two lengthwise of the hog through the center 
of the back-bone. The leaf lard is then trimmed out — the 
shoulder cut from the side, and passed into the cellar, to be 
cured in bulk in dry salt. The side, if from a heavy, fat 
hog, is split, each side, into four parts lengthwise with the 
rib ; the pieces or strips thus cut being about 6 inches 
wide and 22 long. The thickest strips of the sides have 
the hut-end of the rib and back-bone taken out, and made 
into Clear Pork — the lighter, thinner sides, are sometimes 
cut up for Prime Pork or thin Mess, but are most com- 
monly cured with the shoulders, and made into Bacon. The 
usual day's work for a set of 50 hands is to cut up in the 
above manner 500 hogs on one block — but 800 have been 
cut up on one block at Duffield's Pork House, equal, of 
course, to 1600 on two blocks, which can be cut in one 
day of 12 working hours ; and in fact 3 hogs have been cut 
up in one minute." 

" Such is the system and expedition observed in the more 
extensive Pork Houses, that 500 hogs received into the 
Pork House one day, are all ready for shipping the next 
da}' (within 24 hours), including the weighing, cutting, 
packing, rendering the lard, and branding, and all in as 
neat, clean, handsome style, as is done any where in the 
world. This has been done in Cincinnati." 

" The different grades of Barrelled or Pickled Pork 
known to the trade, and to the Inspection Laws, are, in order 
and quality, Clear Pork, Mess, Prime, Chine, (or Rump, it 
being only one end of the Chine) and Joles. As to the 
minutiae of these different sorts of Pork, we are not familiar 
enough with the business to give them ; besides, it might be 
prying too much into the secrets of the trade to inquire. 
We can, in general terms, however, say, that the Barrel 
Pork, packed by our Cincinnati Packers, will compare 
with the best packed in the United States, as to vjuayty,' 
weight, sufficiency of salt and cooperage, and fql k6ep- 



PORK PACKING. 191 

ing almost any length of time — not excepting the Irish 
Pork." 

" The mode of rendering Lard is very simple, the leaf and 
trimmings being merely cut up with cleavers into pieces 
2 inches square, and thrown into large iron kettles of 100 
gallons each. After it has cooked about 3 hours, it is 
strained, and pumped up into Coolers of 300 to 500 gallons, 
cooled to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and then drawn' 
into kegs or barrels as wanted. 

" Most of our large Pork Houses are capable of disposing 
of 1000 hogs per day (ahhough they seldom desire so 
many), employing for that purpose about 75 hai.ds at an 
average of about $1,00 per day. Some houses have cut 
and packed this season over 20,000 hogs." 

From a valuable table, published m the New Orleans 
Price Current, •• shewing the receipts of the principal arti- 
cles from the interior, during the year ending 31st of Au- 
gust, 1847." with their value, we have compiled the follow- 
ing statement, showing the imports into that city, from the 
interior, or from the Western States, of articles manufac- 
tureil from the hog; 

J\rionber Paclages. Val, in Dols. 

Bacon, assorted, hhds. and casks, 28,607 1,716,420 

'• '' boxes, 8,325 249,750 

Bacon Hams, hhds. and trcs. 14,518 943,670 

Bacon, in bulk, pounds, 425,163 25,500 

hhds. 143 11,440 

bbls. and tierces, 117,077 2,692,771 

kegs, 275,076 1,100.304 

bbls. 2,573 56,936 

bbls. 302,160 3,626,040 

hhds. 9,452 378,080 

lbs. 8,450,700 507,052 

$11,309,972 



Lard, 








i'. 








u 








Lard 


oil, 






Pork, 








ii 








a 


in 


bi 


ilk, 



192 HOGS. 

If we suppose that one-fifth of the whole amount of the 
pork, lardj &c., of the west find their way to the Atlantic 
cities through the Northern Lakes, the Pennsylvania ca- 
nal, &c., we should ascertain the aggregate value of the 
exports of this product, for the year, to be : 

By way of New Orleans, $11,309,972 

" " " the Northern cities, 2,829,943 



^14,139,465 
Making more than fourteen millions of dollars, for the 
exports from the West, of this one article, for the last year. 
We add in reference to the hogs of 1847, the current year, 
the following scrap from a newspaper : '• Our Tax Laws 
require the the Assessors of the several counties, to return 
the number of Hogs in each county — six months old and 
upwards — on the 1st of June in each year. The returns 
have not all been made ; but the Ohio Cultivator has pro- 
cured and published those of sixty-one counties, by which 
a very safe comparison may be made. 

In 61 counties 1846, .... 1,097,864 
" " " 1847, .... 1^372,113 

Increase in these counties, - - - 274,247 

Increase twenty-five per cent ! 

The total number of Hogs in this State, will reach near. 
ly one to each inhabitant, exclusive of pigs under six 
months old. Some counties, however, have a vastly greater 
proportion. For example: 

Ross county, . - - - . 70,351 

Butler, 60,604 

Pickaway, .--.-. 50,925 

Franklin, - - 46,914 

Highland, 44,794 

Preble - - 41,092 

Warren - 40,228 

Clinton, - - 39,592 



SHEEr. 193 

Hamilton, 38,275 

Montgomery, 37,581 

These counties are the great corn counties of the State, 
in which hogs are concentrated for the purpose of feeding." 

Beef is also raised extensively, and of fine quality. The 
beeves which are fattened on the prairies, without any other 
care than that of marking them, and giving them salt as 
often as they require it, become very fot, though not large. 
They seldom weigh over six or seven hundred; but the 
meat is remarkably sweet, juicy, and. tender. 

In some parts of Ohio and Kentucky, the farmers have 
turned their attention very successfully to the improve- 
ment of their breeds of cattle. Imported animals have 
been introduced at a great expense, and in sufficient num- 
bers to have already affected a sensible improvement in 
the stock of large districts. In several counties of each 
of these states the cattle are decidedly fine, and unques- 
tionably equal to those of any part of the United States. 

Horses are raised throughout the west. In Kentucky 
and Tennessee, great attention is paid to the rearing of 
blooded horses for the turf, and the saddle, and those 
states abound in fine and beautiful animals of those des- 
criptions. There are many good blooded horses also in 
Ohio, but more attention is bestowed here to the rearing of 
horses for drauo^ht. Lara^e numbers of mules are raised 
in Kentucky and Missouri. 

Sheep raising has been very successfully conducted, 
wherever it has been attempted with proper care. The 
sheep do not thrive on the natural pastures, nor without 
suitable houses to protect them from the weather. 

The foUowino: extract from a letter to the author, writ- 
ten by Mi. George Flower, an English gentleman, whose 
intelligence, experience, and probity entitle his state- 
ments to entire confidence, are conclusive, upon this sub- 



194 SHEEP. 

"When Ferdinand the Seventh was detained by Napo- 
leon a prisoner in France, Sir Charles Stewart, then envoy 
from England, purchased six thousand of the finest meri- 
nos from the royal flocks of Spain. The haste with which 
these sheep were driven to the Spanish coast, their crowd- 
ed state on board ship, and the change of climate and pas- 
ture, engendered so much disease and death, that in one 
year after their purchase in Spain, not more than two thou- 
sand remained alive in England. These two thousand 
were purchased by my father, and for four years were 
tended with great care and attention by me. 

" During this period, I made several purchases of indi- 
vidual sheep from celebrated flocks belonging to the con- 
vents of Spain ; and particularly from the flock of the 
monks of Paula. 

" In 1817. 1 emiofrated to Illinois, and settled in Edwards 
county, ten miles from the Wabash, in a pleasant and 
gently undulating prairie country. I brought with me six 
rams and six ewes, selected for the fineness of their wool. 
From these I have bred and increased, ever since. I have 
also bred from three hundred country ewes, by my merino 
and Saxony rams. The continued use of fine rams, for 
seventeen years, has brought the descendants from the 
country ewes as fine wooUed as the original merinos. The 
flock, from their first introduction up to the present time, 
have been remarkably healthy. The only disease I have 
observed amongst them, is the foot rot : about six falling 
with it in the course of the j'^ear, and about the same num- 
ber with the rot, from pasturing in wet places on the prai- 
rie, in the spring of the year. 

" My flock now consists of four hundred sheep. Two 
hundred and sixty of w^hich are ewes ; two hundred of 
them fine wooiled, and sixty common and half-blood. 

'• I have for sixteen years bred my sheep alone, and with- 
out any comparison with the eastern flocks, oi newly im- 



SHEEP. 195 

ported sheep from Saxony. It will be a curious fact, if it 
should so turn out, that the interior of America contains as 
fine wool as can be found in Spain or Saxony. 

"Having given this brief history of the origin, and 
present number of my flock, I will mention a few facts 
relative to the cultivation of fine wool, and the new varie- 
ties of sheep now possessed by me. Some few years ago, 
the merino was considered the finest woolled sheep in the 
world. The Spanish king allowed the elector of Saxony 
to select a given number of sheep from his flock. The 
agents of the elector, selected the finest woolled animals, 
regardless of their form or size. From these, a race of 
sheep has been reared, producing extremely fine wool, but 
tender, small, and generally ill shaped. These have been 
bred so long together, that the Saxony sheep have now 
very different characteristics from the merino. The wool 
of the Saxony is twenty or twenty-five cents per pound 
higher than the merino. When in possession of the two 
thousand Spanish sheep, I examined with great care, every 
individual in the flock, and selected from them seventy of 
extreme and uniform fineness. These were kept in a little 
flock by themselves, and the manufacturer who purchased 
the merino fleeces, at a dollar per pound, in the grease, gave 
for the wool of the selected flock, two dollars per pound. 
Are there any manufacturers of shawls, or extra fine 
cloths, in the United States, that will give an extra price 
for extra fine wool ? I have now five breeds of fine 
woolled sheep, in my flock, suitable for different soils, and 
whose wool is adapted for difl^erent manufactures. The 
merino and Saxony, both too well known to need descrip- 
tion. The Illinois grazier, is a most useful race of sheep, 
perhaps more generally useful as a substitute for the com- 
mon sheep of the country than any other. It is a short- 
legged, stout sheep, with a long-stapled soft wool, alike 
acceptable to the manufacturer and the housewife. It will 



196 SHEEP. 

live and thrive on the richest as well as the poorest land. 
It fattens easily : its mutton is excellent. The second 
variety I call the prairie down, bearing a strong similarity 
to the celebrated breed of ' south downs,' in England, but 
clothed with the finest fleece. This breed is entirely 
without horns, and divested of the loose skin about the 
throat and chest, that has so much disfigured the merinos. 
The whole appearance of this sheep is neat, with a form 
sufficiently broad for easy fattening. This breed should be 
kept exclusively upon high groimd and fine herbage." 

In the neighborhood of Steubenville and Wheeling, and 
at several other points, sheep have been raised in large 
numbers, and with great success ; and there remains no 
doubt of the adaptation of our climate to this animal. 



prBLIC DOMAIX. 197 

CHAPTER XV. 

The public Domain. 

The public domain, as it is called, consists of the 
lands belonging to the general government, as distinguish- 
ed from the unimproved lands, belonging to the individu- 
al states, or private owners. They have long occupied 
much of the attention of Congress, and there is reason 
to believe that the legislation of that body in respect to 
them, is likely to assume hereafter a higher importance, 
and a more delicate character, than it even now presents. 
It is only necessary to notice the fact, that in all the 
western states, which lie beyond the Ohio, the Union is 
the proprietary of the vacant lands, in order to suggest th(^ 
intricate relations which are likely to grow up betv/eeu 
the general and state governments. To those Avho view 
these questions in their probable effect upon state rights, 
the subject assumes a fearful interest; but Ave do not pro- 
fess to be among those", nor to entertain any doubt, that 
the well-balanced powers of the general government, on 
the one hand, and of the respective states, on the other, 
will be maintained in their original integrity, as long as 
the confederacy shall endure. Nor is it our intention, in 
the remarks Avhich we shall make, to advocate any local 
interest, or to advance the dogmas of any political sect ; 
our object being simply to state the subject, in its various 
bearings, by presenting some of its most prominent de- 
tails, with such information relative to the actual condi- 
tion of the country, as may be properly connected with it. 

In the western states, this subject has for many years 
presented a topic of animated public discussion^ It is 
here a matter of vital interest, and is every year grooving 
in influence, and expanding in magnitude ; and the time 
is fast approaching, when political aspirants, whatever 
b2 



L 



198 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

may be their principles in other respects, will be required 
to be orthodox upon this all absorbing question. Yet the 
politicians of the west are by no means unanimous ; and 
although the popular voice has given currency to a few 
leading propositions, the minds of intelligent men are 
much divided as to the course of policy to be pursued by 
the government, in the disposition of the public domain. 

It should be recollected, that a very large majority of 
the western population, and of the emigrants to the new 
states, are farmers, and that very few of these are willing 
to be the tenants of other men. They nearly all are, or 
desire to become, freeholders : and as there are few other 
lands in market than those of government, the price and 
conditions of sale of the public domain, are to them topics 
of immediate importance. 

By a calculation lately submitted to Congress by one 
of its committees, and founded on evidence which seems 
conclusive, it appears probable, that in 1860 the popula- 
tion of the United States will be tkirty-Uvo millions, 
of which fourteen millions will be contained in the At- 
lantic states, and eighteen millions in the western states. 
Thus the inhabitants of the Atlantic states, having now 
the majority in Congress, are legislating upon the in- 
terests of those, who, in less than thirty years will have 
acquired the right, and the power, to exercise a control- 
ing influence in the national legislature, and who, from a 
dependent condition, will have arisen to complete sov 
ereignty. Where the population of a country is thus 
rapidly increasing — where that increase tends inevitably 
to a transfer of power from one section of the Union to 
another — and where the anticipated change is so near at 
hand, that individuals of tlie present generation may live 
to witness its accomplishment, every measure which 
bears upon the subject becomes deeply interesting. Of 
such measures, those which relate to the sale and owner- 
ship of the public lands, seem to have the most direct 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 199 

operation upon the growth of the new states and territo- 
ries, a very large majority of the emigrants to such coun- 
tries, being agriculturalists, who would not settle upon 
the soil in any other condition than as its proprietors. 

It will be readily seen that this is precisely the kind 
of subject which is calculated to awaken sectional feel- 
ings, and upon which, therefore, a great diversity of 
opinion may prevail. That discordant ideas concerning 
it are prevalent, is becoming every day more and more 
obvious ; and the public domain is now viewed in differ- 
ent lights by different politicians. Some consider it as 
a source of revenue, to be disposed of to the best ad- 
vantage for the national treasury ; others contend that it 
should be put to sale in the manner best calculated to pro- 
mote emigration to that quarter ; a third class, and the 
most numerous, are willing to make a liberal compromise 
between the two former opinions ; while a fourth, few in 
number, deny the right of the United States to the fee 
simple of any lands lying within the limits of a sover- 
eign state. 

The subject, therefore, naturally divides itself into two 
branches of inquiry ; — 1. As to the title of the United 
States to the public lands ; and 2. As to the policy pur- 
sued in its disposal. 
1 . The title of the United Statei to the public lands. 

At the formation of the Federal Government, all the 
lands not owned by individuals, belonged to the states 
respectively, within whose limits they were situated ; for 
as that government consisted of a confederacy of states, 
each of Avhich retained its proprietary rights, and proper 
sovereignty, the United States acquired by the Union no 
property in the soil. The uninhabited wilds lying to the 
west, and as yet not clearly defined by established boun- 
daries, were claimed by the adjacent states, and portions 
of them by foreign nations under conflicting claims, but 
a]^ subject to the paramount Indian title. The title there- 



200 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

fore, of the United States to that country is derived : 
1. From treaties with foreign nations ; 2. From treaties 
with the Indian tribes ; and — 3. From cessions by indi- 
vidual states, members of the Union. 

The treaties with foreign nations, by which territory 
has been acquired, are those of 1783 and 1794 with 
Great Britain, of 1795 and 1820 with Spain, and of 1803 
with France. It is sufficient to say of these treaties, 
that by them we acquired Louisiana and the Floridas, 
and extinguished all the claims of foreign nations to the 
immense regions lying west of the several states, and 
extending to the Pacific ocean. 

The lands east of the Mississippi, and contained with- 
in the boundaries designated by the treaty with Great 
Britain of 1783, were claimed by individual states, and 
the title of the United States to that territory is derived 
from cessions made by those states. 

These cessions embrace three distinct tracts of country. 

1. The whole territory north of the river Ohio, and 
west of Pennsylvania and Virginia, extending northward- 
ly to the northern boundary of the United States, and 
wcstwardly to the Mississippi, was claimed by Virginia, 
and that state was in possession of the French settlements 
of Vincennes and Kaskaskia, v.diich she had occupied 
aid defended during the revolutionary war. The states 
of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, set up, 
to portions of the same territory, claims, which though 
scarcely plausible, were urgently pressed upon the con- 
sideration of Congress. The United States, by cessions 
from those four states, acquired an indisputable title to the 
whole. This tract now comprises Ohio, Indiana, Illi- 
nois, and Michio-an. 

2. North Carolina ceded to the United States all her 
vacant lands lying west of the Allegheny mountains with- 
in the breadtli of her charter. This territory is com- 
prised within the state of Tennessee. 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 201 

3. South Carolina and Georgia ceded their titles to 
that tract of country which now composes the states of 
Alabama and Mississippi. 

The United States having thus become the sole pro- 
prietary, of what have since been called the public lands, 
the nation was rescued from evils of the most threatening 
and embarrassing aspect. The claims of foreign nations, 
adverse to our own, to the broadly expanded regions ly- 
ing west of the several states, and extending to the Paci- 
fic, v/ere extinguished — depriving those nations of all ex- 
cuse for tampering with the Indians upon our border, and 
rescuing our frontier from the dangerous vicinity of for- 
eign military posts. The boundaries of the then fron- 
tier states were defined, and they were prevented from 
growing to an inordinate size, and acquiring an undue 
preponderance in the government — the interfering claims 
of several states to the same territorj^ were silenced — but 
above all, the general government, in acquiring the sole 
jurisdiction over the vacant lands, was enabled to estab- 
lish an uniform system for their settlement, and the erec- 
tion of new states. To the latter, admission into the 
Union upon terms of perfect equality with the older 
members of the confederacy, was secured ; while the 
land was offered to the settler at a fair price, and under an 
unexceptionable title. The disinterested policy of the 
states which made these liberal cessions cannot be too 
highly applauded. Virginia, in particular, displayed a 
magnanimity which entitles her to the lasting gratitude of 
the American people ; her territory was by far the largest, 
and her sacrifice to the general good the noblest. It was 
disinterested, because she reser . ed no remuneration to her- 
self. 

The cession by Virginia is th::* most important, not only 
on account of the magnitude of the country ceded, but in 
regard to the conditions imposed on the United Slates 
respecting its future disposition. It is provided in that 



202 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

compact, *' that all the lands within the territory so ceded 
to the United States, and not reserved for special purposes, 
shall be considered as a common fund, for the special use 
and benefit of such of the United States as have become, 
or shall become, members of the confederation or federal 
alliance of said states, Virginia inclusive, according to 
their usual respective proportions in the general charge 
and expenditure, and shall be faithfully, and bona fide 
disposed of for that purpose, and for no other use or pur- 
pose Avhatsoever." It is also provided, that, " the said 
territory shall be divided into distinct republican states, 
not more than^i;e, nor less than three, as the situation 
of that country and future circumstances may require ; 
which states shall hereafter become members of the Fed- 
eral union, and have the same rights of sovereignty, free- 
dom and independence, as the original states." 

The reservations made by Virginia, were, " That the 
French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers of 
Kaskaskies, St. Vincents, and the neighboring villages, 
who have professed themselves citizens of Virginia, shall 
have their possessions and titles confirmed to them, and 
be protected in the enjoyment of their rights and liberties," 
and a quantity of land, which Virginia had promised to 
General George Roofers Clarke, and to the officers and 
soldiers who served under him in the reduction of the 
French posts, was reserved within the ceded territory, 
for the purpose of fulfilling the stipulations of that agree- 
ment. This cession was made in 1784. 

As we shall comment upon the Ordinance passed by 
congress in 1787, for the government of the northwestern 
territory, in another place, we shall only notice here, that 
part of it which relates to the public lands. It is com- 
prised in the two following clauses : 

" The legislatures of those districts, or new states, shall 
never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by 
the United States, in congress assembled, nor with any 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 203 

regulations congress may find necessary, for securing the 
title in such soil to the bonajide purchasers." 

" No tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the 
United States ; and in no case shall non-resident proprie- 
tors be taxed hig^her than residents." 

In the constitution of the United States, it was further 
declared, that, " The congress shall have power to dis- 
pose of, and make all needful rules and regulations res- 
pecting the territory or other property of the United 
States ;" and thus the sanction of the whole people was 
given to the acts of the confederated government, and 
their compacts with states, and the title of the general 
government to the public lands, recognised. 

The treaties with the Indian tribes, for the extinguish- 
ment of their titles to different tracts of country, have 
been numerous. Those tribes are recognised, in some 
respects as independent nations. They are governed by 
their own laws, and are acknowledged to have the right 
to sell their lands, or to occupy them at their option. The 
general government claims the right of pre-emption, and 
forbids the sale of Indian lands to other nations, or to in- 
dividuals. But in no instance have those lands been 
surveyed, or offered for sale, antecedently to their pur- 
chase from the Indians, nor has any compulsion ever been 
used, to extort from the latter, any portion of their terri- 
tory. In several instances, the same land has been pur- 
chased from several different tribes, in others, it has been 
bought more than once from the same tribe, so liberal has 
this government been in its policy, and so careful to avoid 
even the appearance of injustice. 

No portion of the Indian lands has ever been claimed 
by our government, under the usages of war. The treaty 
of Greenville, made by General Wayne in 1795, at the 
head of a victorious army, with the chiefs of the tribes 
who had just before been vanquished by him in battle, is 
one of the first in date, in reference to the public domain, 



201 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

and affords sufficient evidence of the early adoption of a 
pacific and just policy by our government. Nothing is 
claimed in that treaty by right of conquest. The parties 
agree to establish perpetual peace — the Indians acknowl- 
edge themselves to be under the protection of the United 
States, and not of any foreign power — they promise to 
sell their land to the United States only — the latter agrees 
to protect them, and a few regulations are adopted to go- 
vern the intercourse which shall ensue. A boundary line 
is established by which the Indians confirm to us large 
tracts of land, nearly all of which had been ceded to us 
by former treaties ; and the United States agrees to pay 
them in goods to the value of $20,000, and to make them 
a further payment of $9,500 annually. Most of the trea- 
ties subsequently made, have been framed on this model. 

In the year 1803, President Jefferson in a letter to the 
Governor of Indiana, makes use of the following language : 
" Our system is to live in perpetual peace with the Indi- 
ans, to cultivate an affectionate attachment from them, by 
every thing just and liberal we can do for them, within 
the bounds of reason, and by giving them effectual pro- 
tection against wrongs from our own people." The sys- 
tem thus early adopted, has been invariably pursued ; 
however the views of the government may have been 
misunderstood, or the faith of treaties violated, by indi- 
viduals, the action of congress and of the cabinet, in the 
extinguishment of Indian titles, has been benevolent and 
uniform. The legislation of some of the states, has been 
less equitable, and should not be confounded with that of 
the general government. 

As a considerable part of the country which is now held 
by the United States, as public lands, had been subject to 
several foreign powers successively, portions of it were 
claimed by inhabitants and others, either by right of oc- 
cupancy, or by titles said to be derived from those several 
governments, or from tlie local authorities acting uniler 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 205 

them. To investigate such claims, boards of commis- 
sioners have been appointed by various acts of congress, 
to act within the several territories, whose powers and 
duties have been modified according to the nature of the 
claims to be examined before them ; some having final 
jurisdiction, while others were only authorized to inves- 
tigate and report the facts, with their opinion. But the 
intention of the government, seems uniformly to have 
been to guard against imposition — to confirm all bona 
fide claims derived from a legitimate authority, even when 
the title had not been completed — to allow claims founded 
on equitable principles — and to secure in their possessions 
all actual settlers, who were found on the land when the 
United States became the proprietary of the country in 
which it was situated, although they had only a right by 
occupancy. 

So far then as a title by purchase could be gained, that 
title has been acquired by the Federal Republic. She has 
extinguished every title which could be possibly set up, 
as adverse to her own ; namely, those of foreign nations, 
those of the Indian tribes, and those of such states as 
possessed or alledged them ; and she has confirmed to in- 
dividuals, every acre to which the plausible shadow of a 
right could be shewn, either in law or equity. 

The validity of those purchases, or of the rights ac- 
quired under them, has never been disputed; but since 
the acquisition of that territory, portions of it have been 
erected into separate states, which have been admitted in- 
to the Union, and it has been contended in Congress, and 
elsewhere, that by the act of admitting a state into the 
Union, the government forfeits her claim to the unsold 
lands within the boundaries of such state. It is argued 
that under the laws of nations, " the sovereignty of a 
state includes the right to exercise supreme and exclu- 
sive control over all the lands within it" — that, "the 
freedom of a state, is the right to do whatever may be 



206 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

done by any nation, and particularly includes the right to 
dispose of all public lands within its limits, according to 
its own will and pleasure" — and that sovereignty and 
freedom are inseparable from the condition of an inde- 
pendent state. It is urged, that the original states pos- 
sess supreme and exclusive control over the lands within 
their limits, and that the new states being by compact in- 
vested with " the same rights of freedom, sovereignty, and 
independence, with the oiher states," the right to dispose 
of the soil is among the attributes of sovereignty thus 
guarantied to them. It is contended that the Federal Gov- 
ernment cannot hold lands within the limits of a state, be- 
cause that power has not been expressly given by the 
Constitution, except in the case of "places purchased by 
the consent of the legislature of the state in which the 
same shall be, for the erection of forts," &c. ; and that 
the power of disposing of the soil, not being given, is re- 
served to the states respectively. That section of the 
Constitution which declares that " Congress shall have 
power to dispose of and make all needful rules respecting 
the territory, or other property belonging to the United 
States," is said to be "clearly adapted to the territorial 
rights of the United States, beyond the limits or bounda- 
ries of any of the states, and to their chattel interests," 
and therefore not applicable to this question. 

The objections thus raised were ingenious, and the im- 
mense magnitude of the rights and value of the property 
involved, gave them for the moment a serious and impos- 
ing aspect. But it w^as easily discovered on examina- 
tion, that they were unsound and merely specious. The 
claim thus set up for the new states found few advocates. 
On the floor of Congress its existence was brief, its death 
sudden, its fate unlamented. In the public prints it was 
scarcely noticed, except to be briefly disapproved. Not- 
withstanding its ad captandum character, it failed to be- 
come popular, even in the country where it originated. 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 207 

An objection which seems not to have occurred to its 
authors, was too obvious to escape the common sense of 
a people, alive to their own interests, and intelUgent in 
all that concerns their rights. The government has the 
same title, and neither more nor less, to the unsold lands 
in the several states, which she had at the moment after 
the admission of those states into the Union. If her title 
is defective now, it was equally so at that time ; and e very- 
sale made in any new state since its admission, is illegal. 
The great mass of land titles in the new states, would, 
by the admission of this doctrine, become unsettled. Of 
the million of inhabitants of Ohio, a vast proportion of 
thi freeholders would become intruders on public land. 
The people are too intelligent to submit to such an out- 
rage, the states too just to open a door for the ingress of 
such a flood of misery, confusion, and fraud, as would 
sweep over the land in the event of a consummation so de- 
voudy to be deprecated. It is a singular coincidence, and 
one perfectly conclusive, of the little faith reposed by 
any in this claim, that the legislatures of those states, 
which have wholly or partially sanctioned this doctrine, 
hav^e invariably, at the same sessions, distinctly denied it 
in their acts of ordinary legislation, by the passao-e of 
laws recognising " the lands of the United States " co 
nomine, by the adoption of memorials to Congress, ask- 
ing for grants, and by various other substantive recogni- 
tions, both direct and incidental. 

It is obvious too, that if this question can be said to have 
now any definite existence, its importance must be hourly 
decreasing. Every acre of land that is sold, diminishes 
the amount in controversy, and every creation of a free- 
holder adds to the number of its interested opponents. 
It may not however be uninteresting to state a few of the 
points which are very properly urged against this singu- 
lar claim. 

The cessions by Virginia and the other states, were 



20S PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

made antecedently to the adoption of the Federal Consti- 
tution ; and having been ratihed in the manner prescribed 
by the articles of confederation, the title vested in the 
United States was valid, for the purposes expressed in the 
several deeds of cession. The Federal Constitution hav- 
ing been subsequently adopted, the clause giving to Con- 
gress the " power to dispose of and make all needful 
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other pro- 
perty belonging to the United States," must have had re- 
ference to the territory and other j)rojjerty then held, and 
of course, vested in Congress the power to dispose of the 
lands in question, and to make all needful rules and regu- 
lations respecting them. When, therefore, the people in- 
habiting those territories applied for admission into the 
Union, it was competent to Congress, having power to 
legislate on the subject matter, to make conditions re- 
serving her own proprietary rights. Such conditions 
were made with all the new states, as will be seen by in- 
specting their several constitutions. Those constitutions 
were submitted to Congress for its ratification, and of 
course have the binding effect of compacts, as between 
the parlies. In all of them, the proprietary character of 
the United States, is distinctly recognised, large quantities 
of land are transferred by the United States, to the states 
respectively, for specific purposes, and accepted by the 
latter, and equivalents reserved to be paid to the United 
States in return. Subsequently to their admission into 
the Union, all of those states have been applicants to Con- 
gress for donations of land lying within their respective 
limits, and all of them have received large grants of such 
land. 

It maybe remarked also, that the laws of nations have 
no binding effect as between the members of a confeder- 
acy, or as between a confederated nation and one of its 
members, when those laws come into con' act with the in- 
ternal policy, statutes, or compacts of such nation. Every 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 209 

nation has aright to regulate its own affairs, and to govern, 
or to make compacts with, its own members, without re 
spect to the laws of nations, which could in such cases, 
only be appealed to, where foreign states, not parties to 
the laws or compacts so made, should be affected by them. 
Whatever, then, might have been the situation of those 
lands under the laws of nations, if no legislation had 
taken place respecting them, a widely different case is 
presented, Avhen, by solemn acts, by express laws, and 
long acquiescence, the proprietary rights of the parties 
have been clearly settled, and distinctly recognised. 

It is understood, that the United States can assume no 
sovereignty over any of the new states, or over her lands 
within such state, other than such as is strictly proprie- 
tary. Her title gives her no civil jurisdiction. She can 
claim no taxes, exact no obedience, otlier than she may 
demand from the citizens of all other states. She simply 
holds her property, with the right to sell and convey thi! 
same at her own pleasure, and with power to make need- 
ful rules and regulations for its disposition. The free- 
dom, sovereignty, and independence, of the New States, 
are therefore not infringed ; and if it be admitted that the 
nghi to dispose of the soil within its limits be incident to 
the sovereignty of a state, it is replied, that such right 
applies only to waste, unoccupied or vacant land, ana 
that our states cannot exercise such a power over lands," 
which before their admission into the union, were held 
in fee simple, by the United States, or by individuals. 
It is not denied that the title of the United States, as 
originally acquired, was a good one ; that those who have 
purchased from her, lands within the limits of a state, 
previously to the erection of that state, hold titles equally 
valid ; and that those titles cannot now be modified, nar- 
rowed, or abrogated, by any legislation. Suppose, then, 
that previous to the admission of any one of the new 
states into the union, the United States had sold to an 
s2 



210 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

individual, all her land remaining undisposed of within 
the limits of a state so about to be admitted, would not 
that sale have been valid ? would not the title of the pur- 
chaser of a thousand of tracts, have been as indefeasible 
as that of the buyer of a single tract? would the admis- 
sion of the state into the union, have affected the property 
of any such purchaser ? If these propositions be answer- 
ed in the manner in which we suppose they must be, it 
is difficult to perceive how or why the United States, 
having the privilege to sell or retain her own undisputed 
property, should by electing to hold it, be thereby placed 
in a worse situation than her grantee would have occu- 
pied had her election been different. 

It is further urged, that the territory alluded to, was 
purchased with the treasure of the United States, that it 
has been protected, surveyed, and brought into market at 
the expense of the nation, and that by the express stipu- 
lations of the cessions from the several states, that terri- 
tory was set apart " as a common fund for the use and 
benefit of" all the states, " according to their usual respec- 
tive proportions in the general charge and expenditure." 
There was therefore a consideration given for the lands, 
and an use specifically reserved ; the states subsequently 
admitted became parties to this i s v/ell as to all other 
public treaties, compacts, and laws, of the union ; and 
they accepted the territory allotted to them respectively 
for the exercise of their state sovereignty, subject to its 
encumbrances. 

Other arguments have been used, in reference to this 
subject which we think it needless to repeat. Some of 
them are founded on considerations of expediency rather 
than of right ; and many of them appeal to sectional pre- 
judices and local interests, which we have studiously 
abstained from bringing into view ; preferring to narrow 
down our abstract into a naked statement of such promin- 
ent facts and suggestions as may place before the reader 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 211 

the leading features of this inquiry. We proceed there- 
fore to consider : 

2. The policy adopted by the government in the dis- 
posed of the public domain. 

In 1787 the Ohio company purchased a large tract from 
congress ; which body having adopted no system for the 
sale of lands, or the settlement of the western country, 
seemed disposed to favour the mode of parceling out her 
wide domains in extensive grants. The purchase of the 
Ohio company comprehended one million and a half of 
acres. Joel Barlow was sent by them to Europe to sell 
these lands ; and to facilitate his operations a subordinate 
company was formed, called the Sciota company, to whom 
the lands v/ere conveyed. Mr. Barlow made considera- 
ble sales to individuals and companies in France, and 
many emigrants came to this country, who would have 
been ruined by the bad faith of the company, had not the 
government generously interfered in their behalf. 

In 1789, Mr. John Cloves Symmes contracted with 
congress, for the purchase of a million of acres of land, 
between the great and little Miami ; but in. consequence 
of a failure on his part, to make the stipulated payments, 
did not become the proprietor of so large a tract, the pa- 
tent which finally issued to him and his associates, includ- 
ed only 311,682 acres, of which only 248,540 became 
private property ; the remainder consisting of reservations 
for a variety of public purposes, chiefly for the use of 
schools and the support of religion. 

The remark that occurs to us most forcibly, in revert 
ing to this portion of history, is the improvidence of con 
gress, in making so large a grant of lands to individuals 
Happily for the country, the instances of such extensive 
grants were few ; and it is perhaps equally matter of con- 
gratulation, that they did not, in any instance, yield to the 
individuals concerned in them, advantages sufiiciently 
great, to render the applications for such moiippolies nu- 



212 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

merous or influential. It is, perhaps, chiefly in conse- 
quence of this fact, that the evil was avoided ; for it does 
not appear, that congress was at first aware of the calami- 
tous results which must have followed the parceling out 
of this noble region to a few wealthy proprietors, whose 
interests would often have been hostile to those of the 
people. This principle, however, was not at first under- 
stood. We can easily see why the foreign sovereignties, 
under whose sway we were originally placed, should have 
made, as they frequently did, extensive grants of land to 
individuals or companies ; but it is a little singular, that 
our own government should have fallen into the same 
misguided policy. The earliest law passed by congress, 
for the sale of the lands of the United States, provided for 
its disposal to purchasers in tracts of four thousand acres 
each ; and did not allow the selling of a smaller quantity, 
except in case of the fractions created by the angles and 
sinuosities of the rivers. The law was highly unfavora- 
ble to actual settlers, as it prevented persons of moderate 
properly from acquiring freeholds ; and would have ena- 
bled persons of wealth to become proprietors, and to sell 
the land to the cultivator at exorbitant prices, or else have 
forced the latter to be tenants under the former. With 
the notions that many of our statesmen had derived from 
Great Britain, and which notwithstanding the recent 
rupture of our connection with that country, still remain- 
ed impressed upon us, with all the force of education and 
association, it is perhaps not surprising, that they should 
have deemed it advantageous to create a landed aristocra- 
cy ; but it is more probable, that the error arose from 
accident and carelessness. It is curious, however, to 
look back at these first awkward attempts at republican 
legislation, and to see how gradually we shook off the 
habits of thought in which we had been trained, and how 
slowly the shackles of prejudice fell from around us. 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 213 

In a report of Mr. Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury, 
dated July 20, 1790, he advises, the following system: — 

That no land shall be sold except such in respect to 
which the titles of the Indian tribes shall have been pre- 
viously extinguished. 

That a sufficient tract shall be reserved and set apart 
for satisfying the subscribers to the proposed loan, in the 
public debt, but that no location shall be for less than 
500 acres. 

That convenient tracts shall from time to time be set 
apart for the purpose of locations by actual settlers, in 
quantities not exceeding, to one person, 100 acres. 

That other tracts shall from time to time, be set apart 
for sales in townships of ten miles square, except where 
they shall adjoin upon a boundary of some prior grant, 
or of a tract so set apart, in which cases there shall be no 
greater departure from such form of location than may be 
absolutely necessary. 

That any quantities may nevertheless be sold by special 
contract, comprehended either within natural boundaries, 
or lines, or both. 

That the price shall be 30 cents per acre to be paid 
either in gold or silver, or in public securities, computing 
those which shall bear an immediate interest of 6 per 
cent, as at par with gold and silver ; and those which 
bear a future or less interest, if any, shall be at a propor- 
tional value. That certificates issued for land upon the 
proposed loan shall operate as warrants within the tract 
or tracts which shall be specially set apart for satisfying 
the subscribers thereto, and shall also be receivable in all 
payments whatever for lands by way of discount acre for 
acre. 

That no credit shall be given for any quantity less than 
a township of ten miles square, nor more than two years 
credit for any less quantity. 

That in every instance of credit, at least one quarter 



214 PUBLIC DOMAIX. 

part of the consideration shall be paid down, and security 
other than the land itself, shall be required for the residue. 
And that no title shall be given for an}^ tract or part of a 
purchase, beyond the quantity for which the considera- 
tion shall be actually paid. 

That all surveys of land shall be at the expense of the 
purchasers or grantees.—- 

The first step towards a change in that objectionable sys- 
tem, which contemplated sales in large tracts, and on 
credit was the passage of the act of the 10th of May 1800, 
which provided for the sale of land in sections and half 
sections. Previous to that time no more than 121,540 
acres had been sold, in addition to the sale to Symmes : 
namely, 72,974 acres, at public sale in New York in 
1787, for $87,325, in evidences of public debt; 43,446 
acres, at public sale at Pittsburgh in 1796 for $100,427 ; 
and 5,120 acres at Philadelphia in the same year, at tv/o 
dollars per acre. 

The plan of selling land in sections and half sections, 
the former of 640 acres, and the latter of 320 acres, was 
first proposed in congress, by General William H. Har- 
rison, when a delegate from the northwestern territory, 
in 1799, and produced a sensation which shewed how 
little mature thought had been bestowed on the subject in 
that body. The law was certainly one of the most bene- 
ficial tendency ; and its passage constitutes an epoch in 
the history of this country, of perhaps greater magnitude 
and interest than any other in our annals ; for no act of 
the government has ever borne so immediately upon the 
settling, the rapid improvement, and the permanent pros- 
perity of the western states. The ordinance of 1787, is 
justly regarded as an instrument of vast importance, and 
singularly propitious consequences ; but in its practical 
operation and salutary results, it sinks in comparison with 
the system of selling the public domain, which has placed 
the acquisition of real estate within the reach of the labor- 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 215 

ing classes, and rendered the titles to land perfectly se- 
cure. It is understood, that this act was not the exclusive 
production of General Harrison ; the discriminating genius 
of Mr. Gallatin, then a member of congress, was also 
employed in its production ; and although the earnest 
request of that distinguished citizen, and the circumstan- 
ces of the moment, forced Mr. Harrison to submit to the 
credit of being its sole author, the natural ingenuousness 
of the latter, induced him, subsequently, when he could 
do so with propriety, to explain his own part in the pro- 
ceeding, and to give Mr. Gallatin the honor due him. 
The bill was wariely attacked by some of the ablest men 
in the lower house. Mr. Harrison defended it alone ; he 
exposed the folly and iniquity of the old system ; demon- 
strated that it could only result to the benetit of the 
wealthy monopolist, while the hardy and useful popula- 
tion, which has since poured into the fertile plains of 
Ohio, and made it, in thirty years, the third state in the 
Union, must have been excluded from her borders, or 
have taken the land on terms dictated by the wealthy pur- 
chasers from the government. 

In 1802 a convention was held at Vincinnes, of which 
General Harrison v>as president, at which a petition was 
adopted, praying of congress, that a provision of one 30th 
part of tlie public lands within the territory of Indiana, 
be made for the support of schools within the same ; and 
on tlie 2nd of March succeeding, Mr. Randolph, the 
chairman of a committee to whom this subject was re- 
ferred, made a favorable report. This was the commence- 
ment of our beneficent system for the support of public 
schools. 

As early as 1803, petitions were presented to congress 
praying for various improvements or changes in the mode 
of selling lands, among which the most prominent sug- 
gestions were, To sell the land in smaller tracts — to 
charge no interest on sales — to sell for cash — to reduce 



216 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

the price — and to make grants of small tracts to actual 
settlers. 

On the 23d January 1804, a report was made in the 
House of Representatives, recommending the reduction 
of the size of the tracts, and the sale of quarter sections 
in the townships which had before been offered in half 
sections, and the sale of half sections in those which had 
been offered in whole sections. 

The present admirable system of selling the public 
lands, may be dated as having commenced with the act 
of May 10, 1800, though several important improvements 
have been made since that time. It is not necessary to 
notice all these changes. All the lands within each dis- 
trict, are surveyed before any part is offered for sale ; 
being actually divided into townships of six miles square, 
and each of these subdivided into thirty six sections of 
one mile square, containing six hundred and forty acres 
each. All the dividing lines run according to the cardinal 
points, and cross each other at right angles, except where 
fractional sections are formed by large streams, or by an 
Indian boundary line. These sections are again divided 
into quarter, half quarter, and quarter quarter sections, 
containing 160, 80, and 40 acres respectively, of which 
the lines are not actually surveyed, but the corners, 
boundaries, and contents, are ascertained by fixed rules 
prescribed by law. This branch of business is conduct- 
ed under two principal surveyors, who appoint their own 
deputies. The sections in each township are numbered 
from 1 to 36, the tOAvnships are placed in ranges, and 
also numbered. The surveys are founded upon a series 
of true meridians ; the Jirst principal 7neridian is in Ohio, 
the second in Indiana, the third in Illinois, &;c., each 
forming the base of a series of surveys, of which the lines 
are made to correspond, so that the whole country is at 
last divided into squares of one mile each, and townships 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 217 

of six miles each, and these subdivisions arranged with 
mathematical accuracy into parallel ranges. 

This system is as simple, as it is on several accounts 
peculiarly happy. Disputes in relation to boundaries can 
seldom occur where the dividing lines can be at all times 
corrected by the cardinal points ; where the same line be- 
ing extended throughout a whole region, is not dependent 
on visible marks or corners, but can readily be ascertained 
at any moment, by calculation and measurement ; and 
where one point, being ascertained, furnishes the basis 
for an indefinite number of surveys around it. Such lines 
loo, are easily preserved, and not readily forgotten. 

A vast deal of accurate and useful information is fur- 
nished to the public through the medium of this system. 
The whole surface of the country is actually surveyed 
and measured. The courses of the rivers and smaller 
streams are accurately ascertained and measured, through 
all their meanders. Our maps are therefore exact, and 
the facilities for measuring distances remarkably conveni- 
ent. Many of the peculiarities of the country are dis- 
covered, and its resources pointed out, in the course of 
this minute exploration ; and a mass of well authenti- 
cated facts are registered in the proper department, such 
as the topographer can find in relation to no other country. 

After the land has been surveyed, districts are laid off, 
in each of which a land office is established, and on a 
day appointed by the President, the whole of the land is 
offered at public sale, to the highest bidder ; but not al- 
lowed to be sold below a certain minimum price. Such 
tracts as are not sold at that time, may at any time after- 
w^ards, be purchased at the minimum price, at private 
sale. 

From all the sales, one thirty-sixth part of the land, 

being one entire section in each township, is reserved, 

and given in perpetuity for the support of schools in the 

township ; section No. 16, which is nearly central in 

T 



218 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

each township, is designated by law, for that purpose 
In each of the new states and territories one entire town- 
ship, containing 23,040 acres, (and in some instances two 
townships) has been reserved, and given in perpetuity to 
the state, when foraied, for the support of seminaries of 
learning of the highest class. Five per cent, on the 
amount of the sales of land within each state, is reserved 
tliree-fifths of which is to be expended by Congress in 
making roads leading to the state, and two-fifths to be ex- 
pended by such state in the encouragement of learning. 
All salt springs, and lead mines, are reserved, and leased 
by the government, but many of these have since been 
given up to the states. 

The lands reserved for schools and seminaries of learn- 
ing, have never been considered as gratuitous grants to 
the states receiving them ; each of these states having 
made ample remuneration to the general government. Il- 
linois, for example, agreed that all lands sold by the Unit- 
ed States, within that state, should remain exempt from 
taxation for five years after such sale, and that lands 
granted for military services, should remain exempt from 
taxation for three years, if held so long by the patentees. 
The taxes thus relinquished by that state, will have 
amounted, when all the lands in its limits shall be sold, 
to near a million of dollars. 

The business of the land office, in each district, is 
transacted by a Register, and a Receiver, by the first of 
whom the land is sold to individual purchasers, while the 
other receives the money. These officers are entirely 
independent of each other, their duties distinct, and their 
responsibilities separate. They are required to keep 
similar books of account, and to make respectively, pe- 
riodical reports to the General land office at Washington 
— the one of his sales, the other of his receipts ; so that 
the offices operate as checks on each other ; and as neither 
has any pecuniary interest in the fidelity of the other, 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 219 

there is no temptation to collusion. They each keep 
plots of all the land in their district, sold or unsold, on 
which each tract is distinctly marked and numbered, so 
that the purchaser in making his selection may examine 
for himself. No discretion is vested in the land officers, 
in reference to the sale : the purchaser having selected his 
tract, or as many tracts as he may desire, they have simply 
to discharge the ministerial duty of receiving the money, 
and granting the evidence of title. 

Previous to the year 1820, the price demanded by 
government for its land, was two dollars per acre, one 
fourth of which was paid at the time of purchase, and the 
remainder in three equal annual instalments; a' discount 
of eight per cent, being allowed to the purchaser, if the 
whole was paid in advance. This arrangement, however 
liberally intended, was found to be productive of great 
mischief. The relation of debtor and creditor, can never 
be safely created, between a government and its citizens. 
If the citizen is creditor, his demands are as exorbitant, 
as his power to enforce payment is inefficient, and the 
claim which should be made to the justice, becomes an 
appeal to the generosity, of the debtor. If the govern- 
ment is creditor, the moral obligation to pay, is lightly 
felt, and the legal obligation leniently enforced. The 
debtor expects indulgence, and makes his contract under 
that expectation. He enters into an engagement with less 
circumspection than he would use if dealing with an in- 
dividual, under the belief that he will not find in the gov- 
ernment a rigid creditor ; and under the same conviction 
neglects to make any strenuous exertion to comply with 
his contract. The selling of the public lands, therefore, 
on a credit, was shewn by experience to be unwise. The 
country was new, the soil fine, and the spirit of emigra^ 
tion active. Large purchases were made by individuals, 
who had not the means of payment. Persons who had 
only money enough to pay the first inPtalmcnt on one or 



220 PTTBLIC DOMAIITr 

more tracrty, disbursed their whole capital in making the 
prompt payment requireil at the tune of entry, depending 
on future contingencies for the power to dsseharge the 
other three-fourths of their liabilities. This was done, 
in most eases, without the least intention to defraud ; the 
risk of loss beiiig entirely on the side of the purchaser, 
and the allurement to make the venture, such as few merk 
have the resolution to withstand. A rapid increase in 
the value of lands was generally anticipated, and many 
expected to meet their engagements by selling a portion 
of the land at an enhanced price, and thus securing the- 
portion retained ; some were enticed by a desire to secure 
choice tracts, and others deluded by the belief that they 
could raise the sums required, withm the appointed time, 
by the sale of produce made on the soil. A few, by in- 
dustry, or by good fortune, realised these anticipations, 
but a o;reat majority of the purchasers, at the expiration 
of the term limited for the payment of the last instal- 
ment, found their lands subj.ect to forfeiture for nonpay- 
ment. Instead of riisiirBg, the price of land had fallen, in 
consequence of tliiC vast quantities thrown into the mar- 
ket ; and the increase in the amount of produce raised, 
so far exceeded the increase of demand for consumption, 
that the farmer was unable to realise any considerable pro- 
fit from that source, while the expenses of clearing and 
improving his farm required both labor and money.. 
Money was scarce, the country was new, w^ithout capi 
talists, moneyed institutions, or manufactures, and with 
little commerce ; and while the sale of lands, and the im- 
portation of foreign goods, required to supply the wants 
of the people, constituted an immense and an eternal drain 
of the eirGulating medium, across the mountains, the in- 
dustry of the people was not yet brought into action, nor 
the resources of the country developed, to a sufficient ex- 
tent to afford the means of bringing the money back.- 
Ours was a population of buyers. The demand for 



PUBLIC DOMAIN, 221 

money induced the establishment of local banks, whose 
notes were at first eagerly taken, but 5oon depreciated, 
having the usual effect of driving better money out of cir- 
culation, without substituting any valuable medium in its 
place. Bank debts were added to land debts. 

This state of things existed chieiy from LSI 4 until 
1820. Previous to the former period, the war had created 
an unnatural excitement, unusual expenditures were made, 
and activity was given to some branches <if business : and 
it was to sustain the business which had grown up during 
the war, that local banks were created. The most of 
these banks were authorised to commence business when 
one-fifth of theirnominal capital had beenpfaiii in ; which 
provision, liberal as it was, was not strictly complied 
with — the same specie being used for several banks, and 
only remaining in the vaults of each sufficiently long to 
€nable the proper ofucers to certify that the requisitions 
of the law had been observed. A period of distress oc- 
curred which reached its lowest point of depression in 
1819. 

The whole population trembled upon the brink of ruin ; 
and had the federal government proved a rigid creditor, 
this extensive and beautiful country must have presented 
a vast scene of desolation. The purchasers of land had 
become settlers ; they had built houses and opened fields 
upon the soil, the legal title to which remained in the 
government. A few could have saved their homes by the 
disposal of other property ; the many could not puTx!^hase 
the roof that sheltered them, at any sacrifice which they 
might have been willing, or perhaps able, to make. Yet 
it is not to be inferred that the people were destitute, or 
desperately poor ; far from it — they were substantial far- 
mers, surrounded with all the means of comfort and hap- 
piness — except money. To have driven such a people 
to extremity, would have been ungenerous and fatally un- 
wise ; for now that the crisis has passed, we may say 
t2 



222 PUBLIC DOMAIN, 

without offence or danger, that there is no calculating the 
extent of the private misery, and the public convulsion, 
which such a policy would inevitably have produced. 
The enlightened statesman, (Mr. Crawford,) who at that 
time presided over the Treasury department, saw,, and 
properly estimated the wants and feelings of that part of 
the community, together with the relative duty of the gov- 
ernment. A system of relief was devised, which, by ex- 
tending the time of payment, and authorising purchasers 
to secure a portion of their lands by relinquishing the re- 
mainder to the government, in the cowrse of eight years 
extinguished a large portion of those debts, and has 
eventually, it is believed, absorbed the whole, without 
injury to the citizen, and with little loss to the govern- 
ment. 

This subject affords a theme of proud felicitation to 
the American patriot, as it exhibits an evidence of the 
permanency of our institutions. It is not easy to imagine 
a crisis more perilous than the one to which we have al- 
luded. It is dangerous to threaten a high spirited people 
with expulsion from their homes ; and the law which for- 
feited the lands of the western people upon the non-per- 
formance of their contracts, held out this alternative. But 
under these appalling circumstances, not a shadow of dis- 
affection was exhibited in the west ; the people neither 
threatened nor murmured, but looked up to their govern- 
ment for relief, with a confidence which remained urk- 
shaken to the last. They retained their loyalty and their 
temper, petitioned Congress in an independent tone, and 
awaited the result with manly firmness. From the de- 
bates on this subject in Congress, no one would have 
guessed the magnitude of the interests at stake, or the 
powerful and intense feelings of anxiety enlisted in the 
discussion. The deportment of all the parties was as 
temperate, as the decision was just and judicious. 

Upon granting relief to the land purchasers, the credit 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 223 

system was abolished ; and lands are now sold by the 
government at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, 
payable in cash. This plan has had a more wholesome 
operation ; and the only difference which now exists, has 
reference to the price of land. To this two objections 
have been made ; Lst, that the same price is demanded 
for all lands, without respect to the endless diversity of 
value occasioned by differences of soil and situation : and 
2nd, that the price is in all cases too high. 

That the first is a valid objection, is indisputable ; but 
it is not easy to suggest a remedy less objectionable. To 
divide the land into classes, varying in their actual value, 
as well as in price, would perhaps be impracticable. Un- 
der such a system, there must be an actual inspection of 
each separate tract, the cost of which would often exceed 
the value of the land. The persons appointed to make 
such valuation must be numerous, and each would have 
a separate standard of his own, by which to estimate the 
advantages and disadvantages of soil, climate, position, 
&;c., which the various tracts of land would present. An 
endless scene of confusion would ensue. There would 
be diversities of price, without any corresponding diver- 
sities of value. An imaginary value would be given to 
one tract, while another would be unreasonably depre- 
ciated. The person who wished to purchase would think 
that an exorbitant price had been attached to the spot se- 
lected by him ; while the man Avho had already bought, 
would conceive that his own lands were reduced in value 
by the low estimate affixed to those adjoining him ; some 
would think that emigration into the neighborhood was 
checked by having the lands underrated and brought into 
discredit, while others would imagine that it was prevented 
by high prices. Above all, to the multitude of agents in- 
trusted with this delicate task, there would be opened a 
field for speculation, so vast, so tempting, and so fraught 
with injury to the government and to individuals, that no 



224 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

supposed advantages to be anticipated from such a scheme 
could compensate for its dangers. 

Another plan proposed is, to reduce periodically the 
price of the lands that have been culled. Thus, at the 
opening of a district, the land should be sold at one dol- 
lar and a quarter per acre ; after a term of three or five 
years, the price should be reduced to one dollar ; at the 
expiration of another term, another reduction would oc- 
cur in the price, and so on. It is supposed that the 
choice lands would sell during the first term ; that during 
the second they would again be culled, and the best of 
those remaining unsold would be taken at the reduced 
price ; and that in each successive term a portion would 
be sold, until the whole should be disposed of, at prices 
somewhat proportionate to their value. The objection 
made to this plan is, that it would impede the sales of 
land, by holding out an inducement to persons proposing 
to purchase, to wait from term to term for the reduction 
of price. We do not think this objection well founded. 
Such delay on the part of purchasers would occur to a 
certain extent, but not to a degree to be compared with 
the advantages anticipated by this change. The farmer 
who had selected a choice tract of land, would not for 
three or five years run the daily risk of losing it, to save 
forty dollars. The probability is, that although in the 
first term the sales might be, to a very small amount, de- 
creased, they would in the second and third terms be great- 
ly swelled, and that on the whole, the lands would be sold 
more quickly, and to better advantage, than under the 
present system. 

The plan of graduating the price of land, in the man- 
ner described, was introduced, in Congress, and has been 
most zealously advocated, by Col. Benton, of Missouri. 
It is recommended by its good sense, and practicability, 
and has been more favorably received by the population 
of the new states, than any other modification that has 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 225 

been suggested. The opposition to it in Congress, wliich 
has prevented its adoption has probably been excited, in 
part, by the prominent position which its able author has 
occupied as a party leader, and which has rendered this 
salutary measure an object of partizan warfare. It W'ill, 
in all probability, be eventually engrafted upon the exist- 
ing system, and will have the effect of concentrating the 
population, which has now a tendency to flow towards 
the extreme frontier, by offering advantages to purchasers 
in the older land districts, somewhat commensurate with 
those held out in the new. 

In support of the opinion that the established price of 
the public lands is too high, some plausible reasons have 
been urged. Admitting the fact that the Federal Repub- 
lic has the undisputed title to the soil, it does not follow, 
that she has the right to dispose of it upon her own terms, 
or to retard its settlement by the imposition of unreason- 
able restrictions. Holding it in her national character, it 
is held to the use of the people of the United States, and 
for the purpose of being settled, and erected into states. 
With regard to a large portion of this country, the erec- 
tion of states was a condition express, and with respect 
to the remainder, the same condition is implied. Con- 
gress, therefore, is bound to throw the land into market 
upon reasonable terms ; and while it is her duty not to 
entice population from other sections of the Union, it is 
equally her duty not to retard emigration to this. The 
national legislature should not be a mercenary vender of 
property for gain. The public land should be sold at 
its exact value — at the price which the people are willing 
and able to give for it. 

That the present price of land is higher than the people 
can afford to give, has been suggested by a reference to 
facts, which seem to support this idea. Let us take for 
example the state of Illinois, which is situated in a tem- 
perate latitude, has a healthy climate, is surrounded with 



QOQ PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

navigable streams, and has more arable land widiin es 
boundaries, than any other state in the union. It has no 
manufactories, little trade, few towns, and none of those 
of the larger class, and but few professional men. The 
people are agriculturalists, all of whom would, if they were 
able, own one or more tracts of land, and all of whom 
ought, in good policy, to be encouraged in their desire to 
possess the land they till. The whole quantity of land 
sold in this state, up to July 1828, was little over one 
million of acres, which divided into tracts of 160 acres, 
will give seven thousand such tracts — we throw off the 
fractions. The number of votes actually given at the 
election in August in the same year, was nearly seventeen 
thousand ; and supposing that one man in every eighteen 
did not vote, we may set down the number of persons 
entided to suffrage, at eighteen thousand. Those who 
know the habits and character of that people, will agree, 
that leaving out the villages and the professional men, 
nearly all the rest of the voting population are farmers 
upon their own account, and are, or wish to be, freehold- 
ers. Supposing then that the land sold, had been equally 
distributed, the number of tracts ought nearly to corres- 
pond with the number of voters. Yet the difference is 
as 7 to 18 ; and when it is added, that many farmers own 
more than one quarter section, that there are men in that 
state who own a great many tracts, and that a good many 
are held by non-residents, it will be seen that at the date 
above mentioned less than one third of the voters were 
freeholders. Yet there is no question of the fact, that 
the great majority of those who were not freeholders, 
being two thirds of this population, were farmers, residing 
upon, and cultivating, the land of the United States, ready 
and anxious to purchase if they were able, and with the 
full intention of purchasing whenever they should become 
so. These men are not squatters, as they have been ig- 
Horantly termed. This opprobrious epithet was applied 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 



227 



in its origin, to persons who settled upon the unimproved 
lands of individuals, in the older slates, with the intention 
of acquiring titles by occupancy, or of profiting by the 
defects in the legal titles of the right owners. They took 
possession of the property of other men, with the avowed 
intention of holding it. The people who settle on the 
public land in the west, violate no right, and intend no 
injury. A man settles on a tract which he wishes to buy, 
enhances its value by his improvements, and should he 
eventually not become a purchaser, leaves it in a better 
state than he found it, for the reception of another occu- 
pant ; and there is no instance on record, of any attempt 
on the part of such persons, to claim the fee simple, or 
defraud the government. There was a law passed, many 
years ago, to prevent the intrusion upon public land, and 
to punish the destruction of timber ; but the government, 
finding that this kind of occupancy was beneficial to the 
public, never enforced the law. 

Some light may be thrown upon this topic, by refer- 
ence to a common traffic in the new states, known as the 
sale of improvements. By a tacit and long established 
understanding, persons who settle on the public land, ac- 
quire a sort of popular title to occupancy ; no one inter- 
feres with the possession of another, nor can a purchaser, 
without incurring great odium, buy a tract, on which an 
individual may be settled. Such persons are usually of 
the migratory class, and often move away, leaving their 
improvements to the next comer ; but they more frequent- 
ly sell them, either to those who like themselves have no 
title to the land, or to such as propose to purchase the 
soil. They sell simply the house and fences which they 
have put up, and the popular right to occupy the particu- 
lar tract of public land, which they happen to have settled 
upon. The fact that such improvements command a 
price, and the universality of this practice, shew that the 



223 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

land is not injured, but benefitted, by the occupancy of 
such settlers. 

If the fact be, that there are communities in which two 
thirds, being farmers, desire to become freeholders, but 
are unable to purchase land at the price demanded by the 
proprietary, ought not the proprietor, being the govern- 
ment, to reduce its price ? We have thought that it ought ; 
but several years have passed since the above data was 
collected, and the opinion just indicated, formed — the 
circumstances of the country have changed — and we 
should now give such a decision with some hesitation. 

But other facts are worthy of attention. Fertile as the 
soil of the west is in general, there are extensive tracts 
which at present are unsaleable, or of no value. These 
are, immense prairies, destitute of timber and water — 
river bottoms, subject to inundation — and sterile tracts. 
In the state to which we have just alluded, and some 
others, there are vast regions in which the open prairie is 
the predominating surface. The soil is generally fine ; 
the water is found at a short distance below the surface ; 
but timber is indispensable for fencing, for fuel, and for 
building, and without it these lands cannot be settled. 
But these prairies, as we have shown under another head, 
are annually decreasing in extent. This result is only 
produced, however, in the neighborhood of thick settle- 
ments. Would it not be wise to accelerate such a pro- 
cess by artificial means, and to offer inducements which 
might tempt settlers to venture into the open prairies, and 
to propagate timber by planting ? The inundated bot- 
toms are only valuable for their timber, which is often 
fine, but the lands are rarely purchased on account of that 
single advantage, as they are generally distant from the 
arable prairie lands. The soil is frequently excellent, 
and sometimes very choice, but it will not sell until the 
country shall become densely settled, and a sufficient sur- 
plus wealth shall exist, to enable the inhabitant to em- 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 229 

bank and reclaim it. These bottoms are not only value- 
less in themselves, but by their unhealthiness contribute 
to reduce the value of the adjacent lands. The climate 
of this region, the soil, the water, and the conformation 
of the country are salubrious ; the causes which produced 
febrile and bilious diseases formerly, are mostly removed 
in all the dense settlements ; the river bottoms alone, and 
the surrounding country, remaining a melancholy excep- 
tion to the general and rapid improvement in this particu- 
lar. If the government would give away such tracts, to 
any who would reclaim them, it would gain in the enhanc- 
ed value of the adjacent lands, and the inhabitants would 
be incalculably benefitted in the removal of serious nuis- 
ances. As to the other class of unsaleable lands, the 
sterile— it is to be remarked, that a large portion of it is 
poor only in comparison with the fine lands of this region. 
Things which are offered for sale, are valued by compa- 
rison with other things of the same kind, and by the 
eagerness of one party to buy, and of the other to sell. 
Thus valued, this land is worth nothing. No man will 
have it, at the price demanded, when he may have better 
land at the same money. By comparison with other pro- 
perty of the same kind, it sinks into utter nothingness ; 
it cannot acquire an adventitious value from the eagerness 
to buy of a purchaser who has a boundless region before 
him, and it will only be brought into market by the anxi- 
ety of the owner, evinced in a reduction of price so liberal 
as to tempt the cupidity of the buyer. 

Another view of this question is not unworthy of con- 
sideration. Referring again to the state of Illinois, it will 
be seen that this state contains a little over thirty five 
million acres of land, and that in 1829 thirty millions re- 
mained unsold in the hands of the United States ; the 
balance of five millions including the whole amount of 
sales and grants, whether to the state or to individuals. 
The sales since that time would vary these proportions. 



230 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

a little : but the principles are the same. The peopl )f 
Illinois own one seventh of the whole quantity, the United 
States the other six sevenths ; yet the people of that state 
alone defray the expenses of their own government, while 
its benefits are enjoyed by the general government, to an 
extent, in some degree proportionate to the size of their 
domain. Every new county that is established, every 
court house that is built, every road that is opened, every 
bridge that is erected, enhances the value of real estate ; 
and of the land thus enhanced in value, the United States 
owns six acres, where one is owned by the state, or by 
the individuals who pay for the making of such improve- 
ments. That the general government is daily receiving 
substantial benefits, resulting from the expenditure of the 
money and labor of the western people, is evident ; and 
it is worthy of inquiry, whether it be not bound, in justice, 
to discharge a debt thus created, and what should be the 
extent and character of the remuneration. It is said that 
congress has been harassed by appeals to its generosity, 
on the part of the western people. Is it not probable 
that those appeals have rather been made to the justice 
of that body, and that there has been in fact, an inter- 
change of benefits, which has been mutually beneficial ? 
The inquiry lies within a narrow compass. In all the 
Western States, (Kentucky excepted) the general govern- 
ment owns land ; to none of those states does it pay 
taxes. It has its ample share of all the advantages re- 
sulting from the local governments : the civil protection 
afforded by the latter, and the public improvements made 
by them, invite population, and by converting a wilder- 
ness into a civilized country, render those lands saleable, 
which otherwise would remain unproductive. Does not 
this state of things impose an obligation on the Union, to 
aid in carrying on that process, by which, as the largest 
proprietary, it is the greatest gainer? If the western 
people ask the discharge of that obligation by a reduction 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 231 

in the price of lands — by donations for schools, or for in- 
ternal improvements — or in any other way, the claim is 
entitled to a respectful consideration. 

We do not infer from this reasoning that Congress is 
bound to comply with a demand, even of a majority of 
the western people, to reduce the price of land. She 
acts as the trustee of all concerned. The state in which 
the lands lie is one party, and all the other states, an- 
other ; the government, and the purchaser, have each an 
interest. Yet these are not conflicting, but harmonizing 
interests ; and that policy which should advance them all, 
without leaning to either, would alone be wise. It is not 
expected that the government should drain the population 
from the old states, by offering inducements to emigration 
to the new ; nor would she have the right to retard the 
settlement of the new states by withholding the land from 
sale, or demanding for it an extravagant price. There 
are various reasons why the price of public land should 
be reduced to the lowest practical point. It is good 
policy to increase the class of freeholders, to arrest the 
footsteps of the migratory poor, and settle them down 
upon the soil ; to elevate the character of the citizen, by 
holding out to him the rewards of industry ; to convert 
hunters and labourers into farmers ; and to attach men 
firmly to the government under which they live, by mak- 
ing them holders of property. But these desirable re- 
sults would be retarded, not advanced, by reducing the 
price of land too low, and by putting it at such a price as 
might induce capitalists to invest large sums in this spe- 
cies of property, thereby converting extensive tracts into 
private estates, to be withheld from sale, and from being 
inhabited, and to remain in unproductive wilderness, for 
long and indefinite periods. Again, these sales are to be 
conducted with impartiality ; the interests of one state are 
not to be promoted in preference to those of another, nor 



232 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

is any state to derive exclusive advantages from the gov 
ernmental action over its property. 

It should be recollected also, that the government, be- 
ing the largest holder of land, in this wide region holds 
in her hands the power of regulating to some extent the 
price of real estate. Her interest amounts, in the newest 
states, to nearly nine tenths of the whole — in the elder 
of the western states, it is still great — in the aggregate it 
is vastly greater than that of individuals. A large and 
industrious population of farmers have become owners 
of land here, by purchase from the government. They 
have been the pioneers, and have endured hardships which 
do not now beset the path of the settler. Those who 
came first gave two dollars, others have given one dollar 
and a quarter, for their land ; and if they, in the face of 
the difficulties which then surrounded the emigrant, when 
there was no market, and no money, could afford to give 
these prices for land, their successors can still better afford 
them now, when money is abundant, trade active, and 
the country improved. And the questions may be fairly 
put, whether Congress could justly depreciate the value 
of the lands which she has sold, by now reducing the 
price of the adjacent land — and whether she is not bound 
to protect the interests of those to whom she has sold, as 
much as to conciliate the favor of new customers ? It will 
be seen also, that however plausible the argument in favor 
of the reduction of price might have been a few years 
ago, the considerations which are to be thrown into the 
opposite scale have been, and are still, daily and hourly 
increasing : the danger from Indian hostilities has been 
removed — the hardships of settlers have been decreased — '• 
the whole country has been made accessible by roads and 
steam navigation — improvements have spread widely — 
manufactories have been established and markets opened — 
land is actually worth more than at any former period — 
and the immense increase of freeholders has created a 



I 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 



233 



numerous and rapidly growing class of citizens whose 
interests are directly opposed to any measure which would 
depreciate the value of real estate. 

Petitions have often and earnestly been pressed upon 
Congress, to grant the right of pre-emption to actual set- 
tlers, and such laws, limited usually in their duration, 
and sometimes confined to particular classes of claimants, 
or sections of country, have been passed. As a general 
rule they have been uncalled for by any principle of jus- 
tice, and liable to great abuse. In a few instances, where 
persons have settled in a district of country before the 
land was brought into market, it was proper, on the open- 
ing of the land office, to give them the pre-emption right ; 
but in a large majority of cases, such laws have been 
unjust towards the bona fide holders of land, and inju- 
rious to the government, while they have been productive 
of a vast deal of dishonest speculation. The class who 
are ostensibly to be benefitted have seldom any claim to 
the indulgence extended to them, and as seldom avail 
themselves of its privileges. The idea of protecting the 
actual settler carries an air of popularity about it, which 
renders it wonderfully efficient in the hands of the men 
who love the people, and who propose measures of 
this kind merely for eflTect. For one farmer who avails 
himself of a pre-emption right to secure for his own use, 
the land which he occupies, there are ten occupants Avho 
never intended to purchase, and who sell to a speculator 
that which was improperly given to them. 

On the whole, it seems doubtful whether any improve- 
ment can be made in the present plan of selling the public 
lands. The system is simple, and equitable ; and vast as 
the concerns of this department are, they are now managed 
with admirable fidelity and correctness. So long as the 
United States shall continue to occupy the existing pro- 
prietary relation towards the western country, there will 
probably be but litde change in this part of her policy. 
v2 



234 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

But it has been suggested that the government ought to 
divest herself of the character which she now sustains in 
relation to the public domain. In a report from the treasu- 
ry department made at the opening of the first session of 
the twenty second congress, we find the following remarks : 

" The sources from which the revenue has hitherto 
been derived, are the imports, public lands, and bank 
dividends. With the sale of the bank stock, the latter 
will cease, and, as the imports, according to any scale of 
duties which it will be expedient, and practicable to adopt, 
will be amply sufficient to meet all the expenditure, that 
portion of the revenue heretofore drawn from the sale of 
the public lands may be dispensed with, should congress 
see fit to do so. 

" On this point, the undersigned deems it proper to 
observe that the creation of numerous states throughout 
the western country, now forming a most important part 
of the Union ; and the relative powers claimed and exer- 
cised by congress and the respective states over the pub- 
lic lands, have been gradually accumulating causes of in- 
quietude and difiiculty, if not of complaint. It may well 
deserve consideration, therefore, whether at a period de- 
manding the amicable and permanent adjustment of the 
various subjects which now agitate the public mind, these 
may not be advantageously disposed of, in common with 
the others, and upon principles just and satisfactory to all 
parts of the Union. 

" It must be admitted that the public lands were ceded 
by the states, or subsequently acquired by the United 
States, for the common benefit ; and that each state has 
an interest in their proceeds, of which it cannot be jusdy 
deprived. Over this part of the public property, the 
powers of the general government have been uniformly 
supposed to have a peculiarly extensive scope, and have 
been construed to authorize their application to purposes 
of education and improvement to which other branches 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 



235 



of revenue were not deemed applicable. It is not practi- 
cable to keep the public lands out of the market ; and the 
present mode of disposing of them is not the most profit- 
able, either to the general government or to the states, 
and must be expected, when the proceeds shall be no 
longer required for the public debt, to give rise to new 
and more serious objections. 

" Under these circumstances, it is submitted to the wis- 
dom of congress to decide upon the propriety of disposing 
of all the public lands, in the aggregate, to those states 
within whose territorial limits they lie, at a fair price, to 
be settled in such manner as might be satisfactory to all. 
The aggregate price of the whole may then be apportion- 
ed among the several states of the Union, according to 
such equitable ratio as may be consistent with the objects 
of the original cession, and the proportion of each may 
be paid or secured directly to the others by the respective 
states purchasing the land. All cause of difficulty with 
the general government on this subject would then be re- 
moved ; and no doubt can be entertained, that by means 
of stock issued by the buying states, bearing a moderate 
interest, and which, in consequence of the reimbursement 
of the public debt, would acquire a great value, they 
would be able at once to pay the amount upon advantage- 
ous terms. It may not be unreasonable also to expect 
that the obligation to pay the annual interest upon the 
stock thus created, would diminish the motive for selling 
the lands at prices calculated to impair the general value 
of that kind of property. 

" It is believed, moreover, that the interests of the sev 
eral states would be better promoted by such a disposition 
of the public domain, than by sales in the mode hitherto 
adopted, and it would at once place at the disposal of all 
the states of the Union, upon fair terms, a fund for pur- 
poses of education and improvement, of inestimable bene- 
fit to the future prosperity of the nation. 



236 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

*' Should congress deem it proper to dispense willi ihe 
public lands as a future source of revenue, the amount to 
be raised from imports, after the 3d of March 1833, ac- 
cording to the foregoing estimate, will be $15,000,000; 
but, with a reliance upon the public lands, as heretofore, 
it may be estimated at 12,000,000 dollars, to which, as 
the case may be, it will be necessary to adapt the pro 
vision for the future. 

" Whatever room there may be for diversity of opinion 
with respect to the expediency of distributing among the 
several states any surplus revenue that may casually ac- 
crue, it is not doubted that any scheme for the encourag 
ing a surplus for distribution, or for any purpose which 
should make it necessary, will be regularly discounte- 
nanced. There is too much reason to apprehend that a 
regular, uniform dependence of the state governments 
upon the revenue of the general government, or an uni- 
form expectation from the same source, would create too 
great an incentive to high and unequal duties, and not 
merely disturb the harmony of the union, but ultimately 
undermine and subvert the purity and independence of the 
state sovereignties." 

We shall briefly examine these suggestions. 

The policy of the government in relation to the public 
lands has a twofold object: 1st, The reimbursement to the 
national treasury, of the funds expended in the purchase 
of those lands, and the payment of the national debt, for 
Avhich they were pledged ; and 2nd, an impartial distri- 
bution of the lands among the settlers of the region in 
which they lie. 

It is now, we believe, a conceded point, that the equit- 
able, as well as the legal and actual title to the public do- 
main, is in the general government. The whole of it has 
been acquired with the means of the nation. Her treasure, 
her diplomacy, and her military force, have been used in 
the purchase, and in the protection of this noble property. 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 237 

Any attempt to divest the Federal Union of her interest 
in it, until the debt created by its acquisition be wholly 
discharged, would be clearly inequitable ; and this too, 
we assume lo be a point conceded, or too obvious to ad- 
mit of cavil. But is tliis all ; and are we certain that the 
precise nature and amount of the expenditure alluded to 
are understood ? The mere purchase money is one thing ; 
but has any calculation been made, for the purpose of as- 
certaining what proportion this bears to the multifarious 
contingencies which have arisen out of the acquisition ? 
The pay of the functionaries engaged in negotiations, and 
of the additional troops required by this extension of ter- 
ritory ; the cost of surveying and sale ; the annual ex- 
pense of legislation, and of the general land office ; the 
interest upon these expenditures ; and a variety of other 
items, which, under the pen of a close calculator, would 
swell to an astonishing amount, would all be legitimate 
charges upon these lands. Nor can there be any doubt, 
that the liberal donations for public purposes, within the 
territory in which they lie — for roads, canals, schools, 
&;c., would also be fairly chargeable to this fund, in all 
cases except where equivalents have been paid by the in- 
dividual states for such grants. It should also be recol- 
lected, in estimating the amount of the purchase money, 
that at every treaty held with the Indians, for the extin- 
guishment of their titles to their hunting grounds, there 
has been ffiven to them, besides the specified price of 
the land, an amount greater or less, in presents ; and that 
in many cases, the purchase money has been stipulated 
to be paid in annuities, some of which are to be perpetual. 
Supposing then that all the actual disbursements, hereto- 
fore made from the public purse on this account, be ac- 
curately ascertained, by what rule of arithmetic shall we 
arrive at any correct estimate of the amount which will 
be required, to pay annuities for twenty years, for thirty 
years, for so long as a given tribe shall remain a distinct 



23S PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

nation, and during the lives of numerous individuals who 
are pensioners upon this fund ? 

But again. Is it a settled point that the interest of the 
nation in this property, ought to be extinguished, as soon 
as she is reimbursed ? We apprehend not. Admit that an 
account which the United States may have opened against 
these lands, and in which she has charged them with 
every expenditure made in reference to them, direct or 
consequential, has been balanced by the receipts from the 
land offices, can a good reason be offered, why they 
should not be continued to be held by the government as 
a source of revenue ? No one would contend that an in- 
dividual, having derived from an estate a profit equal to 
its cost, would be bound by any rule of propriety, to con- 
vey it back to his grantor, or throw it into the common 
stock. With as little justice can the United States be 
called upon by the individual states, or either of them, to 
make a similar surrender. The very idea of property, 
excludes such a conclusion ; for it not only includes pres- 
ent possession and use, but all ulterior and accidental ad- 
vantages which may, by any possibility, accrue to the 
owner. If the United States has a clear and perfect title 
to this land, it is a gratuitous assumption for any other 
party than herself, to prescribe a limit to the tenure which 
is in its own nature indefinite. 

We learn from the treasury report, that there are now 
but three sources of revenue to be relied upon for the 
support of our government, viz : imports, public lands, 
and bank dividends. It is proposed to sell the bank stock 
and apply the proceeds to the payment of the public debt, 
to dispose of the lands to the several states in which they 
lie, and to rely solely on the duties upon imports. As to 
the prudence of depending upon a single source of reve- 
nue which may be deteriorated by unforeseen causes, we 
shall not venture an opinion ; but we apprehend that this 
policy cannot be adopted without begging a question, or 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 239 

in other words assuming the correctness of doctrines which 
are hostile to the opinions of a large portion of the nation 
At a time when a tariff is odious to the whole population 
of some states, and to entire classes of citizens in others, 
would it be safe, would it be consistent with that principle 
of reciprocity, that spirit of compromise, that patriotism, 
to say all in one word, which ought to regulate the econo- 
my of a great nation, to abandon all other sources of reve- 
nue, and depend upon the single one which has excited 
more dissention than all the others put together ? If it 
be replied that no objection is made to a tariff which is 
resorted to as a financial resource, and that the propriety 
(or right) of laying duties on imports, is only questioned 
when they are attempted to be used to support manufac- 
tures, or to encourage sectional industry, we ask, is there 
no danger, that when duties on imports should become the 
sole dependence of the treasury, they would have to re- 
main as high as they now are; that the identical duties 
now objected to would be retained ; and the cause of com- 
plaint remain the same, mider a change of name ? There 
may have been conclusive reasons in favor of the creation 
j)f the existing system of duties, but would those reasons 
reach forward, and justify its adoption as a permanent 
feature in the policy of the government ? And shall we 
put it out of our power to reduce or discard those duties, 
when the necessity which induced their adoption shall 
have ceased ? 

Another consideration strikes us as worthy of notice. 
Revenue should be raised in such a manner as to bear 
equally upon all classes of society ; none should be ex- 
empted from the burthen, nor any oppressed by its weight. 
The perfection of a system of finances, would be found 
in the exact operation of this principle, reaching to every 
individual in society, and extending to each his equitable 
portion of the public burthen ; but as perfection cannot be 
expected to be attained in transactions so gigantic and 



240 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

complicated, the nearest approach to it, becomes the mo I 
rational substitute ; and this will be found in adopting t\*3 
principle to which we have alluded as far as practicable!. 
Now it seems very clear, that by multiplying the sources 
of revenue, we should increase the chances of making it 
bear upon all classes of society, and on the other hand, 
by -diminishing their number, we shall multiply chances 
that some would be oppressed. Especially does it appear 
to us, B.t least p7'obable, that if a single source of revenue 
be depended upon, the burthen will be unequally borne, 
and that some classes will occasionally, and some perhaps 
always, be exorbitantly taxed, in comparison with others. 
These considerations are not conclusive, but are thrown 
out as rational doubts. If it can be shewn that duties 
on imports can be extended to so ^reat a variety of arti- 
cles, that all our citizens, shall by these means, be equal- 
ly taxed, and the industry of none be vexatiously bur- 
tliened, or if these desirable results can be produced to a 
reasonable extent, then our objection will have been an- 
swered. 

We may mention in this connexion, a proposition to 
divide the annual nett proceeds of the public lands, among 
the several states, in the ratio of their representation, to 
be expended for the purposes of internal improvement and 
education. If it be determined that these proceeds are 
not to be appropriated to the ordinary purposes of revenue, 
but must have a specific application, it is still not clear, 
that such a distribution would be judicious or even just. 
If the distinction between federal interests and state in- 
terests is to be persisted in, and the line between state and 
federal rights broadly and strongly marked, the question 
arises, upon what ground this can be claimed as a state 
fund ? It has not been created by the action of the state 
governments, nor earned by the prowess, the talents, or 
the labor of citizens of states, acting as such. The claims 
of individual states, as far as any existed, have all been 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 241 

ceded to the Union ; and the subsequent purchase, with 
all its incidental expenses, was made with the national 
treasure. That Congress has a clear right to divide the 
surplus revenue of the Union among the states, is not de- 
nied ; but the propriety of thus parceling this fund, in 
preference to any other does not seem obvious. We 
should place it exactly on the same footing with the reve- 
nue from any other sources. Should there then be a sur- 
plus of the aggregate annual receipts, and its distribution 
be urged as a concession to the opinions of those who 
deny the right of the general government to expend money 
for objects of national improvement, we should not de- 
mur, because we would yield much — almost any thing — 
to a liberal spirit of compromise. But we should yield it 
only as a concession. We doubt the justice of dividing 
a fund disposable for general purposes, according to popu- 
lation. A national fund should be expended where it is 
most wanted, and where it would be most extensively 
useful. The most populous state might not require the 
largest expenditure ; and the least populous might stand 
in the greatest need of assistance. A sum expended in 
one state in making a road, is not necessarily chargeable 
to that state as if for its exclusive benefit, because the ad- 
vantage may be equally great to adjacent states. An im- 
mense sum of money was laid out in the states of Mary- 
land, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, in making a road from 
Cumberland to Wheeling, which is less beneficial to the 
two last named states, than to those lying west of them. 
The correct principle seems to be, not that the expendi- 
tures should be made within certain limits, but that the 
benefits should be fairly distributed. This would be best 
eflTected by the concentrated action of one government. 
Still, on this point we should not be strenuous. We 
should deprecate the division into twenty-four parts, of a 
sum, which at all events will be small, in comparison to 
the objects to be effected, and which by this process would 
J W 



242 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

become comparatively inefTicieiit. But it is better io 
forego such advantages, than to gain them by violence to 
the feelings of a respectable minority. 

Another very important consideration is involved in 
this question. One of the greatest advantages secured to 
the people of the United States by the proprietary action 
of the government over these lands, has been the equita- 
ble mode of their alienation to individuals. This is a 
matter which comes home to men's business and bosoms. 
There is no power exercised by the government, which 
is regarded with such jealousy, or should be exerted with 
so much circumspection, as that which reaches to the fire- 
side of the citizen — that which aftects his home, and the 
maintenance of his family. Every thing else may be en- 
dured, if there be security, comfort, and abundance in our 
dwellings. Whatever other privilege w^e may resign, we 
will not suffer that of pursuing happiness, to be ever 
jeoparded. 

The right to emigrate, is not only a natural, but a char- 
tered right. Our citizens are secured in the privilege of 
removing from one state to another, as well as in the ex- 
ercise of all rights in the state of their adoption, which 
they enjoyed in that of their recent citizenship. It is our 
policy to be one people ; to throw wide open all the ave- 
nues of internal intercourse and trade ; to leave private 
enterprise unshackled, and industry free to exert its ener- 
gies, wherever they may be most usefully employed. 
We are an active and a migratory people, accustomed to 
independence, impatient of restraint, and unwilling to 
endure any discomforts, which may be removed by exer- 
tion, or escaped by a change of residence. We have no 
entailed rights to bind us to the spot of our nativity, and 
but slender hereditary attachments ; and we not only 
highly value, but will maintain at every hazard, the privi- 
lege of seeking subsistence and happiness, wherever we 
please to think they may be found. We do not recognise 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 243 

the moral right existing in any body of men, to monopo- 
lise the soil which was given to us and our children by a 
bountiful Providence, to stay the footsteps of industry and 
the arts, or to shackle the advancement of letters, civili- 
zation, and Christianity. If we can ever justify our 
banishment of the Indian from his hunting grounds, it 
must be upon this principle ; he was a monopolist, oc- 
cupying more than he could use consistently with the 
good of mankind ; he was a barbarian, hostile to the 
social, the useful, and the elegant arts of civil life. It is a 
legitimate exercise of governmental care, to respect such 
feelings, and cherish such rights ; and if by design or ac- 
cident, the government has possessed itself of the means 
of gratifying a national propensity, and of dispensing the 
blessings of a great national source of prosperity, it 
should pause, and reflect maturely, before it resigns a 
power so benign, and so extensive. 

The settlement of the western lands, is a matter of na- 
tional concernment ; one in which all the states are inter- 
ested in a greater or less degree. To one they afford 
homes for her industrious poor, or enterprising youth, to 
another an outlet for her manufactures, to a third a mar- 
ket for her commercial imports ; while all are obliged to 
view them as the future birth place of the millions of 
freemen, who will soon constitute the majority of the na- 
tion. We cannot shut our eyes to the truth, that in the 
proportion in which industry, moral habits, intellectual 
cultivation, and sound national principles, shall be planted 
and cherished in this region, will be the predominance of 
those virtues in the future guidance of our national coun- 
cils. The history of other nations affords no parallel to 
that anomalous and magnificent process which is now 
going forward in our country. The nation is silently but 
rapidly building up its own future seat of empire. The 
howlinff wilderness, which our immediate ancestors view- 
ed with carelessness, and partially explored, with extreme 



244 FDBLIC DOMAIN. 

difficulty and danger, is fast becoming the centre of power, 
the seat of wealth, the theatre upon which the nation in 
its matured vigor will exhibit its concentrated energies. 
The nation, as such, has a stake in the growth of this 
country, which she cannot value lightly. 

In her proprietary character, the government has been 
enabled to establish the boundaries of newly organised 
territories, so as to give to each future state its just limits. 
The country has been surveyed, divided, and prepared 
for sale, under a wise and uniform system. The sales 
have been conducted w^ith order, impartiality, and publici- 
ty. The dweller in Maine or in Georgia, may by refer- 
ence to public documents, know the contents and price 
of each tract of land in the west, and the time and place 
of sale, with as much certainty as an inhabitant of the 
vicinity. The price of land is invariable. These are 
advantages which should have great weight in the public 
mind. If the citizens of the Atlantic states appreciate the 
privilege of emigration to the westward, and the advan- 
tage of a fair competition in the market of new lands ; and 
if the people of the western states place a just value upon 
the security of their titles to real estate, upon the harmony 
which now prevails in its distribution, and upon the regu- 
lar flow of that full and fertilizing tide of population, which 
is now pouring in upon them — they would pause, each 
of them would pause, before they would submit to the 
hazardous experiment of a change of policy, which might 
give us confusion in the place of order, and entail upon 
us the reverse of all that we value, instead of what we 
enjoy. 

But we are told that the relative powers claimed and 
exercised by congress, and the respective states, over the 
public lands, have been gradually accumulating fausos of 
inquietu.de and difficulty, if not of complaint. This is in 
part true ; but before we assent to the necessity of apply- 
ing any of the proposed remedies, let us examine the 



PUBLIC DOMAIN'. 245 

extent of the grievances complained of, and inquire 
whether they be real or supposititious. Have the people 
of the western country any just ground of complaint? 
Are they really dissatisfied ? Fifty years ago, the United 
States had not a single settlement west of the Ohio river, 
if we except a handful of inhabitants at the French villa- 
ges ; and in 1793 the army of General Wayne marched 
through Ohio, then a wilderness. So lately as 1812, the 
inhabitants of Illinois and Indiana were so few in number, 
that they protected themselves with difficulty against the 
Indians. Tecumseh with a little band, of a few hundred 
warriors, kept the whole frontier in terror. At this time 
the state of Ohio alone contains over 1,000,000 of inhabit- 
ants ; and the aggregate population of Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, and Missouri, is more than two millions. If to 
these we add the states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mis- 
sissippi, in which the lands are similarly situated, and 
which have been chiefly settled within the same period, 
we have a population of three millions, without including 
the territories of Michigan and Arkansas, which contain 
a hundred thousand more. In fifty years a region, con- 
taining more than half a million of square miles, has been 
reclaimed from the dominion of the savage ; seven states 
have grown up and been admitted into the Union, and 
two others are ripe for admission ; a population of three 
millions has been accumulated, consisting chiefly of the 
agricultural class, a large portion of M^hom possess free- 
holds, and all of whom are blessed with a greater degree 
of plenty, and burthened with fewer cares, than any other 
similar number of civilized people. Fifty years ago, the 
canoe and the pirogue were the only boats on all the no- 
ble rivers of the west, with the exception of a few barges ; 
since then, seven hundred steam boats have been built in 
this region, with its native timber and materials, and em- 
ployed upon its waters. In 1826 the amount of capital 

invested in steam boats, by the citizens of Cincinnati 
w2 



24Q PUBLIC D03IAIN. 

alone, was upwards of 500,000 dollars, the imports of that 
city were more than 2,000,000 of dollars, and the exports 
1,000,000, In the same region there are more than a 
dozen repiiitable colleges, together with respectable medi- 
cal, theological, and law schools. Books are published 
to a considerable extent. In Cincinnati alone, very many 
volumes a day, issue from the press. These, with a 
thousand other facts which might be added, are sur^ not 
the indications of an oppressed people, or of a country 
crippled in its resources, or checked in its advance to 
greatness. 

The public improvements that have been scattered over 
this valley, by the munificence of the government, how- 
ever scanty they may seem to a sanguine and enterprising 
people, ardent in their views, ambitious in their public 
spirit, and impatient of delay in their rapid march to 
power, have been worthy of a great nation. The Cum- 
berland road alone, is a monument of national beneficence. 
Designed to stretch through an extent of eight hundred 
miles ; meandering for sixty miles among the cliffs and 
precipices of almost inaccessible mountains ; intersecting 
the noblest rivers of the west, and crossing her fertile and 
extensive plains ; studded in its whole length with elegant 
and durable bridges — such a work speaks more in favor 
of the advantages of the connection between the western 
people and the government, than volumes of abstract rea- 
soning. And this is but a part of what has been done. 
The shores of the northern lakes have been surveyed, 
and their facilities for commerce ascertained ; immense 
sums have been laid out in improving the harbors of the 
lakes and the navigation of the large rivers ; extensive 
grants of land have been made to aid in the construction 
of roads and canals ; in short, millions of money have 
been in various ways appropriated to advance the best 
interests of this region. That these appropriations have 
fallen far short of our just proportion of the public treas- 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 247 

lire, and have been inadequate when compared with the 
sums expended on the sea coast, must be admitted ; but 
they have greatly exceeded any expenditure which could 
have been reasonably expected, under the action of the 
several states, had they possessed the land. 

Of what then do the western people complain ? Are 
they taxed by the government ? No. Are any preclud- 
ed from voting, or ineligible to office ? None. Do any 
starve, are any houseless, or naked, or in prison for debt ? 
These are unknown evils. Are standing armies quartered 
among the people, or do the myrmidons of government 
eat out their substance 1 Nothing of all this. Do seed 
time and harvest fail ? Does not the labor of the husband- 
man yield an abundant reward ? Are his hard earnings 
riven from him by fraud or violence ? Do the oppressors 
grind the poor ? Are not life and property secure ? Is 
there any to molest or make afraid, the man who sits 
under his own vine ? We need not pause for a reply : 
the face of nature, the condition of society, and the happy 
estate of man in this favored region, teeming with abun- 
dance, peace, and cheerfulness, all testify against the ex- 
istence of any widespread individual distress, or civil 
misrule. 

But complaints have been made ; they are matters of 
record, and their nature being distinctly known, they may 
be easily examined. In the first place, it may be remark- 
ed, that the western people have sometimes been misun- 
derstood, and have been considered in the light of 
dissatisfied remonstrants, when they only asked the cor- 
rection of error, or the redress of an accidental grievance. 
Such were the petitions of several of the states, for ex- 
changes of the lands given for the support of schools, 
when portions of them proved to be worthless. In most 
instances, we believe in all, valuable considerations were 
given by the states for those lands, and of course when 
large parcels of them were ascertained to be deficient in 



O^g PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

the value which they purported to bear at the time of the 
transfer, there was precisely that kind of failure of con- 
sideration, which would support an equitable, if not a 
legal claim upon the grantor. There have also been 
hundreds, perhaps thousands, of instances of individual 
grievance, which demanded legislative interference ; 
wrongs for which existing laws provided no remedy, cases 
where titles to land have become forfeited by the mistakes 
of officers, or could not be completed in consequence of 
statutory defects, or inconsistencies. Laws intended to 
afford general relief, and framed with due care, have 
sometimes been so worded, as to omit whole classes of 
sufferers, who were thus thrown again upon congress, in 
the character of petitioners. Nor can it be denied, that 
individuals have sometimes mistaken their remedy ; that 
even meritorious individuals have sought that remunera- 
tion from the generosity of congress, which was denied 
them by stern justice ; that imaginary claims have often 
vexed the ear of government ; that the dreams of self-love, 
and the speculations of the visionary and the avaricious, 
have often been intruded upon the public. When we 
consider the vastness of the public domain, the number 
of citizens interested as purchasers, as land holders, or as 
persons desirous to purchase, it will be seen that the peti- 
tions to congress, must unavoidably be numerous, and 
that their number affords no indication of public dissatis- 
faction, or of an importunate spirit. The captious may 
indeed complain of importunity, and the indolent or un- 
discerning, whose want of information disables them from 
drawing the proper distinction, between claims of right 
and petitions for bounty, may turn a deaf ear ; but such 
are not the conclusions of enlightened statesmen, or liberal 
men. Nor are these the complaints of the country ; they 
are not grievances tending to disunion, or which ought 
for a moment to disturb the equanimity of either of the 
great parties to the question before us. They are claims 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 249 

of right, to be decided upon evidence ; or they are sup- 
posititious demands, the rejection of which can excite no 
public irritation. The whole of the cases to which we 
now allude, are, in short, analogous to suits at law, and 
we are not prepared to admit that the decision of the 
former, would ever cause public dissatisfaction, any more 
than the adjudication of the latter. The reader of the 
congressional proceedings, and even the member of con- 
gress, who does not reflect sufficiently upon the peculiar 
connection between the western states and the general 
government may be startled at the number of the petitions 
presented to that body by western members, and draw 
unfavourable inferences from that fact ; but the suggestions 
which we have thrown out will show the injustice of such 
deductions. 

Such being the extensive, the complicated, and the 
important interests, involved in this branch of the subject, 
and the parties to be affected being so numerous, differen- 
ces of opinion may well arise. But these are generally 
collisions of interest, and not controversies as to princi- 
ples. The fundamental rules, which ought to govern 
these sales, are well settled, and thoroughly understood ; 
but different classes of men, and the inhabitants of differ- 
ent sections of the country, entertain conflicting opinions 
as to their respective interests, and naturally seek advan- 
tages for themselves. Therefore we find a variety of 
modes of disposing of the public land, originating from 
various quarters, and advocated with untiring zeal, and 
admirable ingenuity. 

Some of these plans have merits, some are merely spe- 
cious, while many are not even seriously advocated by 
their projectors, but are mere hobbies, on which dema- 
gogues ride into office, and which are abandoned when 
the temporary purpose for which they were brought into 
existence, has been accomplished. The men who love 
the j)^opley have been ingenious in every age of the world, 



^. PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

in giving a momentary importance to their own whims, 
or artful designs, by making them assume the appearance 
of public sentiment. 

But should congress reject all these propositions, will 
the western states have cause to complain ? Have they 
any reason to consider themselves oppressed, by the ad- 
herence of government, to a system under which they 
have enjoyed such unexampled prosperity ? Will the 
minority be so deficient in patriotism as not to submit 
cheerfully to the decision of the majority ? Will the gen- 
erous west, heretofore so loyal, so patriotic in the hour 
of danger, so proud of her rising greatness, tarnish her 
young fame by disobedience, or by being guilty of the 
weakness of indulffinff resentful feelino-s ? Far from it. 
The people are not oppressed, and cannot be persuaded 
to fancy themselves the objects of oppression. 

We have already shown that the western country at 
large is in a prosperous condition ; and when we read 
some of those injudicious speeches in congress, in which 
a contrary idea is held out, we are forcibly reminded of a 
beautiful oriental fable. A prime minister who had grown 
grey in office, was sentenced to death, on suspicion of 
mal-administration, but in consideration of his long ser- 
vice, his punishment was commuted, at his own request, 
to banishment to a deserted village. But on search, a 
depopulated village was not to be found in the whole em- 
pire. *' Can that nation be badly governed," he exclaim- 
ed, "in which every village is prosperous?" He was 
reinstated. 

A few facts will set this matter in its true light. Land 
is now sold in tracts of forty acres, at $1.25 per acre. 
For fifty dollars, an unimproved tract of forty acres may 
be purchased. In any of the states west of the Ohio 
river, a laborer can earn 75 cents a day, and if his living 
be supposed to cost 25 cents, which in this plentiful 
country is a large estimate, he can, by the labor of one 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 251 

hundred days, or about four months, purchase a farm. 
But as the working days in a year, excluding bad weather, 
might not amount to more than 200, it may be safely as- 
serted that a laborer can purchase a tract of 40 acres, by 
six months steady work, and that by the labor of a year 
he may purchase 80 acres. Again, a laborer can get his 
board, and ten dollars per month, the year round, which 
would amount to $120, and if $20 be deducted for cloth- 
ing, he will thus be enabled to purchase a farm, in six 
months, or a larger one in a year. All kinds of stock 
can be raised in this country with facility, and at little 
cost. A good work horse is worth fifty dollars — a cow 
from five to ten dollars, a fat steer from ten to twenty, 
and hogs from two to five dollars per hundred pounds. 
A man then can purchase forty acres of land by the sale 
of a horse, or from four to six head of cattle, or ten hogs; 
and as individuals are not prevented from settling on the 
public lands, but rather encouraged, the means are thus 
afforded to farmers to acquire this property previous to 
the purchase of the soil. Mechanic's wages are much 
higher; those who work in the most useful arts, such as 
carpenters, blacksmiths, shoe-makers, &c. find ready em- 
ployment. An individual of this class may earn money 
enough to buy eighty acres, in six months — some of them 
can earn their acre per day. A person who teaches a 
common English school, receives from $2 50 to $3, 
per quarter for each pupil, and such persons are in great 
demand. A school of thirty scholars will yield ninety 
dollars per quarter, or $360 per year. Let it be further 
taken into consideration, that the extensive public works 
now in progress under the general and state governments, 
furnish employment, and high wages, to laborers and 
mechanics, and supply a circulating medium, and it will 
be seen that any industrious man may buy a farm. 

If then the people are not suffering material injury, but 
are really prosperous, would it be Avise to change the ex- 



252 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

isting system, merely because it may jar with some poli- 
tical hypothesis of state rights, or jostle some abstract 
theory, relative to the balance of power in our thriving 
family of republics ? Will the people suffer themselves 
to be deprived of the solid advantages in their possession, 
by the promise of benefits of doubtful value ? Are the 
speculations of politicians to be for a moment weighed in 
the balance against the rapid advance of the country, the 
peace, the security, the thousand blessings, which are not 
visions of the brain, but substantial present enjoyments? 
Above all shall we be drawn into these delusions by im- 
aginary distinctions, which are attempted to be drawn, 
between the state and federal governments, both of which 
are equally ours, and have in fact no separate interests ? 
There is no cause for dissatisfaction. The next ques- 
tion which we proposed to examine, is in relation to the 
existence of that feeling. Is there, in fact, any discon- 
tent prevailing in the new states, towards the general 
government, in regard to the public domain ? Ours is a 
country in which the murmurs of discontent are not sup- 
pressed, nor the hearty shout of approbation restrained. 
The oppressed find every where bold and able oham- 
pions ; the expression of public opinion is free, and the 
organs for disseminating opinions numerous. In the west 
especially, where the practice of stump-speaking prevails, 
and where candidates for popular suffrage are required to 
address the people, upon the various topics which agitate 
the public mind, the tone of public sentiment cannot be 
mistaken. Do we hear of tumultuous meetings, of in- 
flammatory addresses, of threats to nullify the acts of the 
government, in these loyal states ? On the contrary, al- 
though a high degree of excitability pervades the Union, 
and the slightest spark produces an explosion of indig- 
nant feeling, the western states are quiet. The tenants 
of the ant-hill, or the bee-hive, are not more industrious 
nor inoffensive. The only excitement is that of enter- 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 253 

prise, the only hum that of business. Tariff, masonry, 
nullification, abolition, and Roman Catholics, vex them 
not. While the north and the south fright the land from 
its propriety, by the earnestness of their contentions, the 
west is in repose. As our nation laid the foundations of 
its greatness, while the rest of the world was at war, so 
the new states are quietly gaining population, wealth, and 
power, while the old are wasting their energies in idle 
contention. It is true, that politicians, in the dearth of 
subjects for popular discussion, declaim in good set terms 
about the public lands, assert roundly that the country is 
embarrassed, and declare its liberties in danger from the 
action of the general government. But where is the free 
country, or what the time, in which such harangues have 
not been made ? They are " the cankers of a calm world 
and a long peace," the outbreakings of a restless ambi- 
tion, which finding no excitement around it, endeavors to 
create the element in which alone it can live. But we 
assert, from an intimate knowledge of the western people, 
that a traveler may pass through the length and breadth 
of the new states, without hearing the public lands men- 
tioned, by the people, in the tone of complaint. In par- 
ticular districts, temporary excitements are gotten up, for 
special purposes, which subside when those purposes are 
accomplished. But the people at large are well satisfied 
with the present arrangement. In no portion of the 
Union is there more of a national, and less of a sectional 
feeling, than in the west. The western people have 
grown up under the patronage of the government, they 
have fought under its banners, they feel identified with 
its fame, and their affections are entwined around it. 
They feel, too, the pride of conscious strength. In pro- 
moting the prosperity of the whole nation, they are build- 
ing up that great community, whose destinies will one 
day be swayed by themselves. They cannot be jealous 
of the power of the government, any more than a son is 
X 



254 PUBLIC DOMAIN, 

jealous of the paternal authority, which will soon de- 
scend to himself. 

We shall close this article, already longer than we in- 
tended, by adverting to the proposition to dispose of the 
public domain, to the several states, in which it lies. 
We should deprecate such a measure. Most of the ar- 
guments to be urged against it have been anticipated. If 
the present system teems with the advantages which we 
have enumerated, it would be inexpedient to relinquish 
them, for a measure of doubtful policy. If the " gradu- 
ally accumulating causes of inquietude and difficulty," 
assigned as the chief reasons in favor of a change, are 
shown to be overrated or imaginary, those reasons cease 
to have weight. Let us examine the proposition a little 
more closely. One of the greatest advantages in the pres- 
ent system, is the uniformity which prevails in the price 
of land, and mode of sale. The lands of the govern- 
ment, although lying in different states, are all offered at 
the same price, the land offices are all organized alike, the 
manner of sale every where the same, and the regulations 
published by government are of general operation, and 
easily accessible. Should these lands become the pro- 
perty of the several states in which they lie, all this 
might be changed. One state might sell for cash, and 
another upon credit ; one might determine to sell only to 
the actual settler, another might adopt a different arrange- 
ment ; one might hold her lands at a high price, and an- 
other rate them low ; or they might all engage in a ruin- 
ous competition, by endeavoring to undersell each other. 
That different systems would be adopted in the different 
states, we have ample reason to believe ; and it is equally 
probable that those systems would be often changed. 
Publicity would be given to these several, and ever vary- 
ing systems, through various different channels, and the 
emiofrant would have to search the statute books and 
newspapers of a number of states, in order to ascertain 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 255 

the relative advantages offered to the purchaser. Should 
the states enter into a competition to entice population, 
there is no knowing where the confusion would end, or 
to what extent the fierceness of contention, or the sor- 
didness of speculation, might be carried ; and these sister 
states, now so united in feeling, so happy in their pros- 
perity, so closely allied by juxta-position and interest, 
might become the theatre of jealousies growing from year 
to year, and ending in settled animosity. 

Several of these states have had fearful experience of 
the evil of creatincr the relation of debtor and creditor be- 
tween the government and its citizens. In Kentucky, 
the lands south of Green river, were sold by the state, to 
her citizens, upon credit. Instead of proving a blessing, 
they have been a curse ; instead of enriching her treasu- 
ry, they have impoverished it. Every year brought the 
purchasers of land before the legislature, as petitioners, 
for extension of the time of payment ; and although thirty 
years have elapsed since the sales commenced, the same 
process is annually continued. The expenses of legis- 
lation eat up all the proceeds. Nor is this all. The 
*' Green river claim," has become a standing theme, as 
everlasting as the famous case of Amy Darden's horse. 
A number of counties are now interested in it, in which 
members to the legislature can only be elected, under a 
pledge to become its advocates, and a party is thus formed, 
of which the members, however highminded, are obliged 
by circumstances, to unite in supporting a measure of 
local popularity, even at the sacrifice of high general in- 
terests. In Tennessee, a valuable reservation of lands, 
set apart to promote education, was sold in a similar man- 
ner, and the proceeds released, here a little and there a 
little, until nearly the whole has been squandered ; while 
the moral effect upon the ordinary legislation of the state, 
has been as pernicious as in the former case. In several 
of the states, banks have been created, and money loaned 



25(3 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

by the state to the people. In every instance, the effect 
has been the same ; a relief party has been organized, 
and prepared to appease the clamors of the people at 
every hazard. These instances all illustrate a simple pro- 
position. Where the representative can confer on his 
constituent a pecuniary advantage, out of the public funds, 
there is a direct tendency to corruption. If the candidate 
for a seat in the legislature, can promise to sell lands to 
the voters at fifty cents an acre, for which the existing 
price is one dollar; or where a majority are debtors, will 
promise to postpone the day of payment ; there will al- 
ways be found men ready to become parties to such con- 
tracts. Such propositions, though at first made with cau- 
tion, become sanctioned in the eyes of the people by fre- 
quent repetition, the doctrine grows popular, and candi 
dates, always quicksighted in discovering the road to of- 
fice, espouse it with zeal. Under the present system, 
we are free from such abuses. Of the twenty-four states 
which compose the Union, but seven are occupied by 
portions of the public domain, and if we suppose it pos- 
sible for the representatives from those states to unite, in 
advocating measures of the character alluded to, there 
would be a controling influence in the remainder, which 
would preserve the purity of Congress, and regulate the 
sales of land with impartial justice. 

For similar reasons we should object to the proposed 
law to divide the proceeds of the sales of public lands 
among the states. Not only do we consider these pro- 
ceeds to be as properly revenue, available for all the pur- 
poses of government, but we are sure that if any portion 
of them are to be expended for education, or internal im- 
provement, the appropriations can be more judiciously 
made, and more economically expended by the United 
States, than by the states. Let those who are interested, 
inquire into the fate of some of the grants made to states 
for canals, and how the state legislatures have used the 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. g^^ 

funds given them for a specific purpose. Let them look 
at the disposition of the college and school lands in at 
least two of the states, and they will see that valuable 
tracts which would have commanded a large advance on 
the government price, have been given away under a 
wretched system of favoritism and collusion, by which 
pre-emption rights, were given to persons who had set- 
tled on these lands, after they had been set apart for a 
specific purpose. The abuses of this description are 
numerous, and intimately known to those who have been 
engaged in politics. They should warn us to beware how 
we rashly endanger so extensive a property, and risk the 
many advantages we enjoy, under our admirable land 
system, by giving up any thing to the state legislatures, 
which may be retained in the hands of representatives 
more able, more experienced, and equally responsible to 
the people. 

The following is the estimate of the amounts of money 
which would be paid to the several states, out of the sur- 
plus revenue now in the treasury, should the proposed 
distribution of the proceeds of the public lands take place : 

Share for 15 per cent. Total to 

each State. to new States. new States. 

Maine, - - - . 689,028 
New Hampshire, - - 464,587 
Massachusetts, - 1,052,953 
Rhode Island, - - 167,650 
Connecticut, - - - 513,472 
Vermont, - - - . 484,133 
New York, - - - 3,309,503 
New Jersey, - - - 551,865 
Pennsylvania, - - 2,325,424 
Delaware, - - - - 130,120 
Maryland,- - - - 700,079 
Virginia, - - - 1,765,554 
North Carolina, - 1,103,563 
South Carolina, - 784,918 
Georgia, - - - - 741,423 
Kentucky, - - - 1,072,660 
Tennessee, - - 1,078,578 
x2 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 




Share for 


15 per cent. 


Total to 


each Stale, 


to new States. 


new States. 


1,614,400 


230,844 


1,845,244 


296,173 


67,561 


363,733 


- 591,728 


325,485 


917,213 


271,078 


483,760 


754,838 


- 224,972 


174,354 


399,327 


190,367 


788,403 


978,770 


- 452,826 


541,940 


994,766 



258 



Ohio, - - - 
Louisiana, - ■ 
Indiana, - - 
Illinois, - - - 
Missouri, - - 
Mississippi, - ■ 
Alabama, - - 

We hope that this controversy, if a controversy it is 
destined to be, will be conducted upon broad and national 
principles ; that sectional interests will not be permitted 
to mingle in the discussion ; and that this noble domain, 
the heritage of the American people, purchased with their 
treasure, and peopled under the auspices of their govern- 
ment, will remain, at least for a time, under the disposal 
of the national legislature. Whenever the wisdom or the 
liberality of Congress shall become questionable, or its 
purity less than that of the state legislatures ; whenever 
the public lands shall be unequally distributed, or their 
proceeds appropriated with partiality ; whenever the 
western states shall be oppressed, or the people believe 
themselves the objects of oppression, we shall advocate 
the disposal of the lands to the states in which they lie, 
or the distribution of the proceeds — but not until then. 

The following data are condensed from an able report 
of Mr. Woodbury, the present Secretary of the Treasury : 

The whole amount of lands now owned by the United 
States Government, within the states and territories, ex- 
ceeds 330,000,000 of acres, and that owned west of 
the Mississippi, and of Missouri and Arkansas, exceeds 
750,000,000. Of this last, about 80 millions have been 
appropriated to Indian tribes, the balance remains un- 
disposed of. The Secretary estimates the one fourth or 
270,000,000 as waste land, or covered with water, and one 
half of the whole too poor for cultivation for many years 

Of the land owned by the government within the 
states and territories, there has been surveyed and offered 



PUBLIC DOMAIN. 259 

for sale from the year 1789 to 1834, 122,000,000 of acres, 
not one third of which has been sold. The whole pro- 
ceeds of the sales during that time, have amounted to 
about 50,000,000 of dollars, and the net proceeds after 
deducting charges, for purchase, surveying, management, 
&c., are about 4,000,000 of dollars. 

The quantity actually sold from 1789 to 1834, a period 
of 45 years, after deducting about 6,333,333 acres, sold 
under the old credit system, and which afterwards re- 
verted, was about 37,500,000 acres. The quantities be- 
stowed in bounties, during the last war, and for schools 
and other purposes is about 16,000,000 of acres. 

The sales never amounted in one year to one million 
of acres until 1815. In 1817 they amounted to 2,500,- 
000 acres, and in 1819 under the credit system, and 
high price of cotton, to 5,500,000 acres, thus exceeding 
the sales of 1834, considerably. The price of cotton 
fell in 1820, and left the country indebted for lands, to 
nearly the amount of 22,000,000 of dollars. The credit 
system was then changed to cash, and by the relinquish- 
ment of the lands to the government, the debt was nearly 
extinguished. The annual sales again fell below one 
million of acres, and continued thus until 1825. In that 
year the price of cotton began to rise, and the quantity of 
land sold also increased, and in the year 1829, again ex- 
ceeded one million of acres. From 1829 to 1834, there has 
been a steady enlargement of the quantity sold. In 1834 it 
amounted to 4,000,000 of acres, and in 1835, is estimated 
at 9,000,000 of acres. The Secretary estimates, that from 
the increase of our agricultural population, and other 
causes, the sales for the next six or seven years, will ex- 
ceed 1,000,000 of acres, and that the proceeds maybe 
estimated at from 3 to 6,000,000 annually. The exports 
of cotton iti 1790, amounted to 500,000 pounds, in 1834 to 
380,000,000 of pounds, whilst the home manufactures 
consumed 90,000,000 during the same year. We now 



260 WESTEftN STEAMBOATS. 

furnish fifteen sixteenths of all the cotton consumed in 
Great Britain, and seven tenths of all that is consumed in 
France. The value of the fabrics manufactured from the 
raw material furnished by us, is to Great Britain $180,- 
800,000, and to France $80,000,000, and to our own 
manufactures about $62,000,000. 



BOOKS & STATIONERY. 

DERBY, BRADLEY & CO., PUBLISHERS, 

Wholesale and Retail Dealers in 

LAW, MEDICAL, THEOLOGICAL, SCHOOL, 

MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS AND STATIONERY, 

AND 

IMPORTERS or FOREIGN BOOKS, 
No. 113 Main Street, Cincinnati, 

Would respectfully call the attention of Country aierd.ants and Boo^^^^^^ 
generally, to their large and extensive stock of BOOKb and STATIONERY, 
■which they will sell at the lowest prices for cash. 

SCHOOL and CLASSICAL BOOKS all kinds in use. 

LAW and MEDICAL BOOKS, the largest assortment in the West. 

MISCELLANEOUS and THEOLOGICAL BOOKS, an extensive assortment. 



-ALSO- 



WRITING PAPER of all kinds ; 

BLANK BOOKS of every description ; 

STEEL PENS and OUILLS, in great variety ; 

INK, INSTANDS, SLATES, &c., &c. 
To.'ether with every variety of STATIONERY used in the city or country. 
V^CounTrv Merch^^^^ members of the bar, medical profession, public, private 
]p=Country i^iejcndn purchases of Books or Stationery, 

purchasing. — 

DAVIES' SYSTEM OF MATHEMATICS. 

DESIGNED FOR SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES, AND COLLEGES. 
The followin-^ Mathematical works, by Professor Davies, are now published by 
the^ubsc ibTr ." Booksellers, Country Merchants, Teachers, and others wishing 
Jo purchase, can at all times find a full supply in Cincinnati, and sold at Eastern 
prices. 

ELEMENTARY COURSE. 

Davies' first Lessons in Arithmetic ; 
do School Arithmetic, and Key separate ; 
do University Arithmetic, and Key separate ; 
do Elementary Algebra, and Key separate ; 
do Elementary Geometry ; 
do Drawing and Mensuration. 

ADVANCED COURSE. 

Davies' Legendre's Geometry ; 

do Bourdon's Algebra ; 

do Elements of Surveying ; 

do Analytical Geometry ; 

do Descriptive Geometry ; 

do Shades, Shadows, and Linear Perspectives } 

do Differential Calculus. 

DERBY, BRADLEY & CO., 
Publishers and wholesale Dealers in books and Stationery, 
113 Main street, Cincinnati. 



WILLARD'S HISTORY 

OP 

'HI WlITll iTATli 

OR 

REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. 

ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS AND ENGRAVINGS. 
TWO EDITIONS. 

The. Academical^ or Library Edition^ Svo. 

AND THE 

Abridged, or School Edition. \8mo. 



The large work is designed as a Text Book for Academies and 
Female Semi narie.';; and also [or District Schools and Family Libraries. 

The small work, being an Jlbridgment o{ the same, is designed as 
a Text Book for Comrnon Schools. 

It commences with tlie discovery of America, 1492, and goes down 
to the death of General Harrison, 1842, (350 years.) The originality 
of the plan consists in dividing the time into periods, of which the 
beginnings and terminations are marked by important events; and 
constructing a series of maps illustrating the progress of the settle- 
ment of the country, and the regular advances of civilization. 

It has a chronographic chart, wliich gives, by simple inspection, a 
view of the divisions of the work, and the events which mark the 
beginning and termination of each period into which it is divided. 

A full chronological table will be found, in which all the events of 
the History are arranged in the order of time. 

There is appended to the work the Constitution of the United 
States, and a series of questions adapted to each chapter, so that the 
work may be used in schools and for private instruction. 

The Hon. Daniel Webster says, of an earlv edition of the above 
work, in a letter to the author, " I keep it near me, as a Book of 
Reference, accurate in facts and dates." 

MRS. ^VltiJLARWS ANSWER. 

The answer to Marcins Willson's Attacks made upon " Mrs. Wil- 
lard's School History," for the purpose of introducing his own book, 
is published in pamphlet form and furnished gratuitously. 

Notwithstanding the ungenerous efforts of Mr. Willson and his 
publisher, to injure the fair reputation of Mrs. Willard and her ex- 
cellent School History of the United States, the work in question is 
having a large and increased sale — and has been adopted in many 
places where Willson's pamphlets have been most circulated. Mrs. 
Willard's Histories " stand upon their own merits" (of the truth of 
this assertion in regard to Willson's see Mrs. Willard's Answer) and 
their increasing sale shows that the public appreciate them, as also 
the weight of Mr. Willson's pretensions. 

Mrs. Willard's Histories are for sale by 

DERBY, BRADLEY & CO., 
113 Main st, west side, bet. 3d and 4th. 






VALUABLE LIBRARY BOOK 

Burnet's Notes on the North- IVestern Ten-itory. 

We subjoin extracts from a few out of many testimoniala which have been re- 
ceived respecting the merits of the work : 

From the Louisville JournaK 

* * ♦ " We regard this work as one of the most important contributions 
yet made to the historical department of Western Literature. 

" Persons wishing to inform themselves of the great events which have marked 

the progress of the Norih-Wesiern Territory, will no where find a work so well 

adapted to that end. It ought to find a place in every family, and will doubtless 

have a circulation commensurate wj^th its uncommon interest and merits.'' . 

From the Ohio State Journal. r 

♦ * * " We predict that here is not only an ' American Book ' that will 
be read— but a ' Western ' one, which will command interest, and challenge ad- 
miration, as well abroad as at home. Few readers will be willing to forego its 
perusal. 

" 'The North-Western Territory' was the comprehensive appellation of the 
country which now comprises the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, I\!iihi?an,and 
Wisconsin. That Territory was truly lortunate to embrace among is very earli- 
est ' settlers ' one of the comprehensive mind, energy of character, ami polished 
education of Jacob Burnet, to write its early annals for the benefit of posterity." 

From the Cincinnati Chronicle, 

•* Such a work is original in its nature— authoritative as testimony— and belongs 
to the class of memoirs for history, which are often more valuable than formal 
histories themselves. It will be read with equal interest, at the firi side of the 
presentgeneration,andby that distant posterity which will so largely have profited 
by the labors of the author, and his worthy contemporaries among the pioneers of 
the valley of the Ohio." 

From the Cincinnati Herald. 

"Every part of this work is interesting, and forms a valuable contribution to 
the substantial literature of the country. The accounts of the different military 
expeditions under Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne, the important enterprises of 
Gen. Geo. Uc.ger Clark, the subordinate labors of Wilkinson, Hardin, and Scott, 
throw light upon the general pplitical history of the limes, which can be found 
so accurately no where else." 

From Cist's Advertiser. 

" No one can read the volume without imbibing thorough confidence in the fi- 
delity of statements, as the ample competency of the writer to judge intelligently 
and impartially of that to which he testifies. In his freedom from prejudice, so 
uncommon in contemporaneous historips, I suppose the book has never been sur- 
passed; as an example, the character of Gov. St. Clair— a man more generally 
unpopular than any other pioneer of note— is given in such terms that no one 
who did not learn the fact from these pages, or did not know it otherwise, would 
suspect the antagonistic position, marked at times with warm feeling, which 
subsisted at the time between the parties." 

From the New York Tribune. 
" This fine work, just issued from the press, is needed, and will be extremely 
useful both in historical and we may say a biographical sense, giving as it does 
so much insight into the institutions, character and causes of the degeneracy of 
the North-Westfrn Indians— while it is valuable and interesting in its relation 
of those revolutionary events in which all the Indian Tribes figured more or less, 
conspicuously. The author of this work has, undoubtedly, executed his task 
faithfully, as we are certain he has entertainingly." 

From the Cincinnati Atlas. 

* * * " No other living man possesses the same advantages for the au- 
thorship of such a work. It is all within his own memory—' all that he saw, and 
part of which he was.' He possesses the rare advantages of treating of a long 
serif^s of events from his own knowledge, and that knowledge is of the most relia- 
ble kind." 

From the Cincinnati Gazette. 

* * * " Indeed, there is no portion of JudEre Burnet's volume that is not 
full of interes'. to one who cares to know the history of the West, and ia the niaia 
il must be entirely reliable." 



.v't 



I 



